MEDICAL XPRESS
The study appears in the October issue of Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.
“Few studies have examined the role of genes in cancer-related fatigue and none, to our knowledge, have examined genetic variation related to androgen deprivation therapy,” said study co-principal investigator Heather S.L. Jim, Ph.D., assistant member of the Health Outcomes and Behavior Program. “We found that prostate cancer patients who carry the variants of the IL6 and TNFA genes and are treated with androgen deprivation therapy are susceptible to heightened fatigue.”
Evidence from prostate cancer studies suggests that pro-inflammatory cytokines, which have been linked to fatigue in cancer patients, are influenced by testosterone. At the same time, testosterone inhibits IL6 gene expression. Androgen deprivation therapy restricts testosterone.
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