Cytokines and Cancer Fatigue

Posted by: KLM on: December 17, 2010

• In: Medical Info
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The doctors never seem to like talking about the fatigue that lingers and lingers after chemotherapy. This last time I tried to find answers, I came across much info I knew, like long-term fatigue is a problem for up to half of cancer patients.

Yesterday, I came across some articles looking at elevated levels of something called “Cytokines” in those experiencing fatigue.

From what I understand from reading, cytokines are similar to hormones… they are proteins secreted by cells in one part of the body, that trigger a response somewhere else. For example, when the body detects blood sugar is too high, the pancreas will put insulin into the blood which instructs other parts of the body to absorb more sugar and store it for later use. Hormones are secreted by endocrine glands. Cytokines work in a similar way, by don’t need a special organ to send the message.

Cytokines may be divided into six groups: interleukins, colony-stimulating factors, interferons, tumor necrosis factor, growth factors, and chemokines. I’m not going to go into all the details of these terms, but many have to do with stimulating the immune system. My speculation is that with the immune system activated for colds, we feel tired… which may be why I feel so tired. What I’m feeling is close to how I am tired when I am sick.

Of the list of groups, the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) sounds interesting. The TNF activates lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell ) to attack cancerous cells resulting in apoptosis. Apoptosis, as you may recall, is a self-destruct mechanism for damaged cells. rather than just dying, these damaged cells first cut all the DNA into tiny pieces to make sure it cannot be reused.

There are another set of cytokines that promote cell growth, which may not be a good thing. The articles I’ve read have not made the distinction of which types of cytokines are involved in the fatigue.

Somehow this makes me feel better, that maybe the fatigue is my body working overtime, in case there are a few more cancer cells lurking in the shadows.