ABSTRACT Many men with prostate cancer (PC) experience increased levels of psychological stress. We aim to identify these men using both patient-reported and blood-based stress measurements. In this pilot study of 58 PC patients with varying disease stages (localized, biochemically recurrent, or metastatic), stress was assessed subjectively with the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-4) and objectively with serum catecholamine levels at up to 5 consecutive visits. Statistical analyses were performed to evaluate for correlations between serum biomarkers and perceived stress over time. There were 10 (17.2%) localized, 13 (22.4%) biochemically recurrent, and 35 (60.3%) metastatic PC patients. All three cohorts contained a portion of men with high measured stress levels at baseline. 22% of subjects had high measured catecholamines across the majority of visits. PSS-4 was moderately correlated with norepinephrine levels (R = 0.32, p = 0.014), especially within the metastatic subgroup (R = 0.41, p = 0.016). PC patients experiencing physiologic stress can be identified using both patient-reported and objective measures. An ongoing study may clarify how these measures correspond with β-adrenergic signaling within prostate cancer cells within the prostate. Future studies are needed to determine if targeting stress pathways will affect PC outcomes.
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