Association of Depressive Symptoms with Perceived Stress and Proinflammatory Cytokines in Treatment-Naïve Patients with Breast Cancer.

Women with breast cancer experienced increased perceived stress prior to anticancer treatment, which was a strong contributor to severe symptoms of depression. Results emphasize the need to screen and identify patients with high perceived stress shortly after the disclosure of the diagnosis of breast cancer. Further research in larger sample is needed to investigate the relationship between proinflammatory cytokines and depressive symptoms.