Current Projects

Project Title Sleep, Circadian Hormonal Dysregulation and Breast Cancer Survival

Researcher David Spiegel, MD, Stanford School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California

Study Summary Too much stress and not enough sleep are two things that many women know all too well. Could they be linked to breast cancer? That is what a group of researchers at Stanford University want to find out. They are studying the effect that stress and sleep-related hormones may have on the immune system and cancer progression.

Who Can Participate? You can join the Stress and Breast Cancer study if you match ALL of these MAIN categories:

• You are a woman between 45 and 75

• You have been diagnosed with metastatic or recurrent breast cancer at somepoint during your life

• You are willing to travel to Stanford University for 2 days and 1 night, if you live within 1 to 2 hours of the University ; or 4 days and 3 nights if you live farther away

• You have not had another cancer in the past 10 years other than breast cancer, skin cancer, or in situ cancer of the cervix

The research staff will ask you additional questions to be sure that this study is the right fit for you.

What Does Participation Involve? If you join the Stress and Breast Cancer study, you will be asked to answer questions about your medical history and health-related behaviors. You will also participate in a 2-week at-home sleep data collection, which includes keeping a sleep log, wearing a watch-like device that will assess your activity and sleep, and two nights of more detailed sleep recording. Finally, you will be asked to stay at Stanford Hospital for 28 hours where your sleep will be assessed, and you will be asked to provide blood samples through an IV, saliva samples, and complete a psychological assessment including interviews and questionnaires.

Where? Stanford School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Palo Alto, Calif.

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