Might anxiety disorders promote head and neck cancer development?
Marcela Gonçalves de Souza,
Emisael Stênio Batista Gomes,
Lorena Barbosa Costa,
Amanda Dias Silva Andrade,
Sabrina Ferreira de Jesus,
Daniela Paola Santos de Paula,
Rogério Gonçalves da Rocha,
Sérgio Henrique Sousa Santos,
Alfredo Maurício Batista de Paula,
Lucyana Conceição Farias,
André Luiz Sena Guimaraes
Affiliations
Marcela Gonçalves de Souza
Department of Dentistry, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Emisael Stênio Batista Gomes
Department of Dentistry, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Lorena Barbosa Costa
Department of Dentistry, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Amanda Dias Silva Andrade
Department of Dentistry, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Sabrina Ferreira de Jesus
Department of Dentistry, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Daniela Paola Santos de Paula
Department of Dentistry, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Rogério Gonçalves da Rocha
Department of Dentistry, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Sérgio Henrique Sousa Santos
Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Food Engineering College, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Alfredo Maurício Batista de Paula
Department of Dentistry, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Lucyana Conceição Farias
Department of Dentistry, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil
André Luiz Sena Guimaraes
Department of Dentistry, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil; Corresponding author at: Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Hospital Universitário Clemente Faria, Laboratório de Pesquisa em Saúde, 562 Av. Cula Mangabeira Santo Expedito, Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Cancer patients present a higher risk of experiencing anxiety disorders (AD). However, it is not clear if AD might be associated with cancer development. Thus, our study aimed to evaluate if AD might be related to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) development. The combination of an applied animal basic study and a retrospective diagnostic case and control study in patients was performed. As a result, we obtained that stress reduced the locomotor activity of the animals in the group stress and stress + 4NqO (p < 0.0001). The stress showed no influence on the progression of neoplasia in mice. In the same way, the case group did not present differences in anxiety scores in comparison to control. Moreover, no association between HNSCC staging and anxiety scores was observed. In conclusion, our in vivo findings in humans and animals have shown that there is no relationship between AD and oral squamous cell carcinoma.
