Study examines fatigue in breast cancer survivors - Brief Article

AORN Journal, Oct, 2003

A chronic inflammatory process involving T cells may be associated with fatigue in breast cancer survivors, according to an Aug 7, 2003, news release from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Approximately 30% of women successfully treated for breast cancer suffer from persistent fatigue of unknown origin, and studies have found elevated levels of several inflammatory markers in the circulating blood of breast cancer survivors experiencing fatigue.

Researchers from UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center studied cellular immune system status in 20 breast cancer survivors experiencing fatigue and 19 breast cancer survivors who were not experiencing fatigue to identify an immunologic basis for these elevations. Those participants experiencing fatigue were found to have significantly increased numbers of circulating T lymphocytes with pronounced elevations in numbers of CD4 T tymphocytes and CD56 T effector lymphocytes compared to participants not experiencing fatigue. The increased numbers of circulating T cells correlated with elevations in the level of serum interleukin-1 receptor antagonist, a marker of inflammation. Results will need to be confirmed in a larger study.

UCLA Study Examines Origins of Fatigue in Breast Cancer Sunrvivors (news release, Los Angeles: UCLA, Aug 7, 2003) http://newsroom.ucla.edu/page.asp?menu=morenews&submenu=research&id=4427 (accessed 26 Aug 2003).