Inflammation and Behavioral Symptoms After Breast Cancer Treatment: Do Fatigue, Depression, and Sleep Disturbance Share a Common Underlying Mechanism?

Abstract

This study confirms high rates of behavioral symptoms in breast cancer survivors, particularly those treated with chemotherapy, and indicates a role for TNF-α signaling as a contributor to postchemotherapy fatigue. Results also suggest that fatigue, sleep disturbance, and depression may stem from distinct biologic processes in post-treatment survivors, with inflammatory signaling contributing relatively specifically to fatigue.