Title
Influence of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on Telomerase Activity in Women With Breast Cancer (BC)
Date Issued
01 October 2014
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Lengacher C.A.
Reich R.R.
Kip K.E.
Barta M.
Ramesar S.
Paterson C.L.
Carranza I.
Budhrani P.H.
Kim S.J.
Park H.Y.
Jacobsen P.B.
Schell M.J.
Jim H.S.L.
Post-White J.
Farias J.R.
Park J.Y.
University of South Florida
Publisher(s)
SAGE Publications Inc.
Abstract
Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) reduces symptoms of depression, anxiety, and fear of recurrence among breast cancer (BC) survivors. However, the effects of MBSR (BC) on telomere length (TL) and telomerase activity (TA), known markers of cellular aging, psychological stress, and disease risk, are not known. This randomized, wait-listed, controlled study, nested within a larger trial, investigated the effects of MBSR (BC) on TL and TA. BC patients (142) with Stages 0–III cancer who had completed adjuvant treatment with radiation and/or chemotherapy at least 2 weeks prior to enrollment and within 2 years of completion of treatment with lumpectomy and/or mastectomy were randomly assigned to either a 6-week MBSR for BC program or a usual care. Assessments of TA and TL were obtained along with psychological measurements at baseline, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks after completing the MBSR(BC) program. The mean age of 142 participants was 55.3 years; 72% were non-Hispanic White; 78% had Stage I or II cancer; and 36% received both chemotherapy and radiation. In analyses adjusted for baseline TA and psychological status, TA increased steadily over 12 weeks in the MBSR(BC) group (approximately 17%) compared to essentially no increase in the control group (approximately 3%, p <.01). In contrast, no between-group difference was observed for TL (p =.92). These results provide preliminary evidence that MBSR(BC) increases TA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from BC patients and have implications for understanding how MBSR(BC) may extend cell longevity at the cellular level.
Start page
438
End page
447
Volume
16
Issue
4
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ciencias naturales
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-84907000631
PubMed ID
Source
Biological Research for Nursing
ISSN of the container
10998004
Sponsor(s)
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the USF Established Researcher Grant Award and, in part, by the National Cancer Institute (R01-CA131080).
Sources of information:
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