Examining the Role of Stress in Lung Cancer

Syed Jafri, M.D., an assistant professor at the University of Texas McGovern School of Medicine, discusses the potential role that stress could play in lung cancer diagnoses.

While a high percentage of people who get lung cancer smoke, only a very small percentage of people who smoke end up getting lung cancer, so Jafri conducted a study to see if life events that caused major stress -- such as the illness of a family member -- is a factor in developing the disease.

When comparing people with lung cancer to people without it, Jafri discovered that those who had the disease were much more likely to have a major stress event within the past five years. Further, this seemed to effect older men more frequently than the other populations.