Eudaimonic well-being tied to ovarian tumor neuroeffector

(HealthDay)—Eudaimonic well-being is associated with lower tumor norepinephrine (NE) in women with epithelial ovarian cancer, according to a study published in the Oct. 1 issue of Cancer.

Lauren Z. Davis, from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, and colleagues assessed how two different aspects of well-being (eudaimonic and positive affect) and psychological distress were associated with tumor NE in 365 patients with ovarian cancer. High-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection was used to measure tumor NE in frozen tissue samples.

The researchers found that eudaimonic well-being, positive affect, and psychological distress modeled as distinct, but correlated constructs. A good model fit was found for structural equation modeling analysis that included physical well-being, stage of disease, histology, psychological treatment history, beta-blocker use, and caffeine use as covariates. This model demonstrated that eudaimonic well-being was related to lower tumor NE (P = 0.045), while no effects were found for positive affect or psychological distress.

"Because adrenergic signaling is implicated in tumor progression, increasing eudaimonic well-being may improve both psychological and physiologic resilience in patients with ovarian cancer," the authors write.

Two authors disclosed financial ties to the medical device industry.