The DOI matches its Crossref record; 74 of the 74 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Emotional expression in cancer onset and progression
Abstract
Despite the intensive biomedical research in oncology since World War II, recent studies show a steady increase in age-adjusted mortality for all kinds of cancer. This findings gives impetus to the efforts of researchers who have adopted the biopsychosocial model. Systematic research using such a model has shown several psychosocial factors to be associated with cancer onset and progression, and Temoshok has recently suggested a theoretical model which unifies these findings. In this paper, I consider the evidence that one of these psychosocial factors, emotional expression, may be directly involved in cancer onset and progression. I review 18 relevant studies, discuss how one might operationalize the term 'emotional expression', and make 12 suggestions for future research.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Citations
Cites
The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud
Freud, S. (1953) · Cited by 17,730
The Need for a New Medical Model: A Challenge for Biomedicine
Engel, G. L. (1977) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.847460 · Cited by 12,887
The Prevalence of ‘Alexithymic’ Characteristics in Psychosomatic Patients
Sifneos, P. E. (2010) · Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics · doi:10.1159/000286529 · Cited by 2,818
Autonomic nervous system activity distinguishes among emotions
Ekman, P., Levenson, R. W., & Friesen, W. V. (1983) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.6612338 · Cited by 2,692
(1978) · DigitalGeorgetown (Georgetown University Library) · Cited by 2,128
Weinberger, D. A., Schwartz, G. E., & Davidson, R. J. (1979) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-843x.88.4.369 · Cited by 1,083
The Physiological Differentiation between Fear and Anger in Humans
Ax, A. F. (1953) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/00006842-195309000-00007 · Cited by 905
Marital interaction: Physiological linkage and affective exchange.
Levenson, R. W., & Gottman, J. M. (1983) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.45.3.587 · Cited by 855
Emotions—Their Parameters and Measurement
N, J. C. (1976) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/00006842-197603000-00011 · Cited by 840
PSYCHOLOGICAL RESPONSE TO BREAST CANCER: EFFECT ON OUTCOME
Greer, S., Morris, T., & Pettingale, K. W. (1979) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(79)92127-5 · Cited by 774
The "disease-prone personality": A meta-analytic view of the construct.
Friedman, H. S., & Booth‐Kewley, S. (1987) · American Psychologist · doi:10.1037/0003-066x.42.6.539 · Cited by 647
Psychological coping mechanisms and survival time in metastatic breast cancer.
Derogatis, L., Abeloff, M., & Melisaratos, N. (1979) · Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) · doi:10.1001/jama.1979.03300140020016 · Cited by 514
Psychological Coping Mechanisms and Survival Time in Metastatic Breast Cancer
Derogatis, L. R. (1979) · JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association · doi:10.1001/jama.242.14.1504 · Cited by 500
Schwartz, G. E., Weinberger, D. A., & Singer, J. A. (1981) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/00006842-198108000-00007 · Cited by 492
Bailar, J. C., & Smith, E. (1986) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejm198605083141905 · Cited by 410
Psychological attributes of women who develop breast cancer: A controlled study
Greer, S., & Morris, T. (1975) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/0022-3999(75)90062-8 · Cited by 396
Harburg, E., Erfurt, J. C., Hauenstein, L. S., Chape, C., Schull, W. J., & Schork, M. A. (1973) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/00006842-197307000-00003 · Cited by 379
Sklar, L. S., & Anisman, H. (1981) · PubMed · Cited by 369
Psychosocial Correlates of Survival in Advanced Malignant Disease?
Cassileth, B. R., Lusk, E. J., Miller, D. S., Brown, L. L., & Miller, C. L. (1985) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejm198506133122406 · Cited by 357
Development of a questionnaire measure of emotional control
Watson, M., & Greer, S. (1983) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/0022-3999(83)90052-1 · Cited by 340
Psychosocial correlates of breast cancer and its treatments.
Meyerowitz, B. E. (1980) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.87.1.108 · Cited by 324
MENTAL ATTITUDES TO CANCER: AN ADDITIONAL PROGNOSTIC FACTOR
Pettingale, K. W., Morris, T., Greer, S., & Haybittle, J. L. (1985) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(85)91283-8 · Cited by 309
Personality, coping style, emotion and cancer: towards an integrative model.
Temoshok, L. R. (1987) · PubMed · Cited by 293
Sklar, L. S., & Anisman, H. (1981) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.89.3.369 · Cited by 288
Neuropeptides and their receptors: a psychosomatic network
Pert, C. B., Ruff, M. R., Weber, R. J., & Herkenham, M. (1985) · The Journal of Immunology · doi:10.4049/jimmunol.135.2.820 · Cited by 255
The relationship of psychosocial factors to prognostic indicators in cutaneous malignant melanoma
Temoshok, L. R., Heller, B. W., Sagebiel, R. W., Blois, M. S., Sweet, D. M., DiClemente, R. J., & Gold, M. L. (1985) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/0022-3999(85)90035-2 · Cited by 212
Factors contributing to emotional distress during cancer chemotherapy
Nerenz, D. R., Leventhal, H., & Love, R. R. (1982) · Cancer · doi:10.1002/1097-0142(19820901)50:5 · Cited by 205
Orford, J. (1986) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.93.3.365 · Cited by 197
Psychotherapy during radiotherapy: effects on emotional and physical distress
Forester, B., Kornfeld, D. S., & Fleiss, J. L. (1985) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/ajp.142.1.22 · Cited by 185
Health care and human behaviour
Steptoe, A., & Mathews, A. (1984) · Academic Press eBooks · Cited by 184
Hopelessness as a predictor of cervical cancer
Schmale, A. H., & Iker, H. P. (1971) · Social Science & Medicine (1967) · doi:10.1016/0037-7856(71)90090-4 · Cited by 174
Grossarth-Maticek, R., Bastiaans, J., & Kanazir, D. T. (1985) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/0022-3999(85)90038-8 · Cited by 173
Psychological Factors in the Prognosis of Malignant Melanoma: A Prospective Study*
Rogentine, N., van Kammen, D. P., Fox, B. H., Docherty, J. P., Rosenblatt, J. E., Boyd, S. C., & Bunney, W. E. (1979) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/00006842-197912000-00006 · Cited by 169
Kneier, A. W., & Temoshok, L. R. (1984) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/0022-3999(84)90008-4 · Cited by 153
Patterns of expression of anger and their psychological correlates in women with breast cancer
Morris, T., Greer, S., Pettingale, K. W., & Watson, M. C. (1981) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/0022-3999(81)90098-2 · Cited by 153
Disease as a Reflection of the Psyche
Angell, M. E. (1985) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejm198506133122411 · Cited by 151
A Possible Relationship between Psychological Factors and Human Cancer
BLUMBERG, E. M., West, P. M., & Ellis, F. W. (1954) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/00006842-195407000-00001 · Cited by 142
Temoshok, L. R. (1985) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/0277-9536(85)90338-7 · Cited by 142
Personality in male lung cancer patients
Kissen, D. M., & Eysenck, H. J. (1962) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/0022-3999(62)90062-4 · Cited by 141
Rapid-course radiation therapy of cerebral metastases: Results and complications
Young, D. F., Posner, J. B., Chu, F. C. H., & Nisce, L. Z. (1974) · Cancer · doi:10.1002/1097-0142(197410)34:4 · Cited by 140
Hagnell, O. (1966) · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1966.tb45435.x · Cited by 136
Dattore, P. J., Shontz, F. C., & Coyne, L. (1980) · Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-006x.48.3.388 · Cited by 134
Personality, cancer and cardiovascular disease: A causal analysis
Eysenck, H. J. (1985) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/0191-8869(85)90003-0 · Cited by 134
Psychosocial factors and psychophysiological mechanisms in the aetiology and development of cancers
Cox, T., & Mackay, C. (1982) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/0277-9536(82)90048-x · Cited by 128
Towards a psychobiological model of cancer: Psychological considerations
Greer, S., & Watson, M. (1985) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/0277-9536(85)90330-2 · Cited by 125
Psychosocial stress and cancer
Cooper, C. L. (1984) · Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) · Cited by 125
Goodkin, K., Antoni, M. H., & Blaney, P. H. (1986) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/0022-3999(86)90068-1 · Cited by 119
The Treatment of Diseases and the War against Cancer
Cairns, J. (1985) · Scientific American · doi:10.1038/scientificamerican1185-51 · Cited by 106
Gudjonsson, G. H. (1981) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/0191-8869(81)90052-0 · Cited by 105
Psychological influences on immunity
Kiecolt‐Glaser, J. K., & Glaser, R. (1986) · Psychosomatics · doi:10.1016/s0033-3182(86)72630-3 · Cited by 102
Psychological factors in the outcome of human cancer
Stavraky, K. M. (1968) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/0022-3999(68)90080-9 · Cited by 97
Emotional control and autonomic arousal in breast cancer patients
Watson, M., Pettingale, K. W., & Greer, S. (1984) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/0022-3999(84)90080-1 · Cited by 92
Stress and cancer: The state of the art
Bahnson, C. B. (1981) · Psychosomatics · doi:10.1016/s0033-3182(81)73533-3 · Cited by 91
The concept of psychosomatic disorder
Engel, G. L. (1967) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/0022-3999(67)90051-7 · Cited by 83
Serum iga and emotional expression in breast cancer patients
Pettingale, K. W., Greer, S., & Tee, D. E. H. (1977) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/0022-3999(77)90048-4 · Cited by 81
Psychosocial Risk Factors for Lung Cancer
Horne, R. L., & Picard, R. S. (1979) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/00006842-197911000-00001 · Cited by 80
Psychological identification of breast cancer patients before biopsy
Wirsching, M., Stierlin, H., Hoffmann, F., Weber, G., & Wirsching, B. (1982) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/0022-3999(82)90057-5 · Cited by 77
Psychological intervention in the treatment of cancer
Simonton, O. C., Matthews-Simonton, S., & Sparks, T. F. (1980) · Psychosomatics · doi:10.1016/s0033-3182(80)73697-6 · Cited by 76
Psychological Aspects of Medicine
Alexander, F. (1939) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/00006842-193901000-00002 · Cited by 69
Stress and cancer: The state of the art Part 1
Bahnson, C. B. (1980) · Psychosomatics · doi:10.1016/s0033-3182(80)73571-5 · Cited by 66
Emotions in Health and Illness: Theoretical and Research Foundations
Tidd, M. E. (1985) · Psychosomatics · doi:10.1016/s0033-3182(85)72907-6 · Cited by 61
The Validity of Emotional Control as a Trait in Breast Cancer Patients
Pettingale, K. W., Watson, M., & Greer, S. (1984) · Journal of Psychosocial Oncology · doi:10.1300/j077v02n03_02 · Cited by 55
Personality and behavioral characteristics of lung cancer patients
Abse, D. W., Wilkins, M. M., de Castle, R. L. V., Buxton, W. D., Demars, J.-P., Brown, R. S., & Kirschner, L. G. (1974) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/0022-3999(74)90073-7 · Cited by 53
Interpersonal repression as a predictor of cancer
Grossarth-Maticek, R., Siegrist, J., & Vetter, H. (1982) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/0277-9536(82)90058-2 · Cited by 47
The biological correlates of psychological responses to breast cancer
Pettingale, K. W., Philalithis, A. E., Tee, D. E. H., & Greer, H. S. (1981) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/0022-3999(81)90071-4 · Cited by 47
Psychosocial Predictors of Cancer and Internal Diseases
Grossarth-Maticek, R. (2010) · Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics · doi:10.1159/000287422 · Cited by 47
Some psychosomatic aspects of neoplasia*
Crisp, A. H. (1970) · British Journal of Medical Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.2044-8341.1970.tb02131.x · Cited by 41
The study of psychological factors in breast cancer: Problems of method
Greer, S., & Morris, T. (1978) · Social Science & Medicine Part A Medical Sociology · doi:10.1016/0271-7123(78)90040-8 · Cited by 40
Psychosocial Aspects of Cancer
Peterson, L. G. (1982) · Psychosomatics · doi:10.1016/s0033-3182(82)73272-4 · Cited by 37
Emotions in Health and Illness Applications to Clinical Practice
(1982) · Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/00004583-198211000-00013 · Cited by 32
Psychosocial aspects of breast cancer; a review
Morris, T. (1983) · European Journal of Cancer and Clinical Oncology · doi:10.1016/0277-5379(83)90160-8 · Cited by 31
Adjuvant psychological therapy for patients with cancer.
Greer, S., & Moorey, S. (1987) · PubMed · Cited by 30
Towards a psychobiological model of cancer: Biological considerations
Pettingale, K. W. (1985) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/0277-9536(85)90331-4 · Cited by 28
Recall of parental behaviors in female neurotic depressives
Lamont, J., Fischoff, S., & Gottlieb, H. J. (1976) · Journal of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1002/1097-4679(197610)32:4 · Cited by 28
Research works printed but not linked: 5
- Weisman, 1977, Coping and Vulnerability in Cancer Patients
- DiClemente, 1985, Psychological adjustment to having cutaneous malignant melanoma as a predictor of follow-up clinical status, Psychosom. Med., 47, 81
- Levenson, 1986, Emotion and autonomic specificity: something borrowed—something new, Psychophysiology, 23, 415
- Cunningham, 1984, Psychotherapy for cancer: a review, Advances, 1
- Grassi, 1985, La Courtauldi Emotional Control Scale (CECS) di Watson e Greer, Boll. Psicol. Applic., 173, 3
Cited by
Sorted by citations
The emerging field of emotion regulation: an integrative review
Gross, J. J. (1998) · Review of General Psychology · doi:10.1037/1089-2680.2.3.271 · Cited by 9,916
“Emotion inhibition also may exacerbate minor ailments (Pennebaker, 1990; Pennebaker, Kiecolt-Glaser, & Glaser, 1988) and may even accelerate cancer progression (Fawzy et al., 1993; Gross, 1989; Spiegel, Bloom, Kraemer, & Gottheil, 1989).”
Self-citationEmotional regulation in the workplace: A new way to conceptualize emotional labor.
Grandey, A. A. (2000) · Journal of Occupational Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/1076-8998.5.1.95 · Cited by 3,788
“As evidence of this process, research has linked the inhibition of emotions to a variety of physical illness, including higher blood pressure and cancer (Blackburn, 1965; Gross, 1989; King & Emmons, 1990; Smith, 1992).”
BackgroundGross, J. J. (1998) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.74.1.224 · Cited by 4,671
“In addition, new hypotheses involving emotion regulation have emerged, suggesting that emotion inhibition may exacerbate minor ailments (Pennebaker, 1990) and that inexpressiveness may accelerate cancer progression (Fawzy et al., 1993; Gross, 1989; Spiegel, Bloom, Kraemer, & Gottheil, 1989).”
BackgroundSelf-citationEmotional suppression: Physiology, self-report, and expressive behavior.
Gross, J. J., & LEVENSON, R. W. (1993) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.64.6.970 · Cited by 1,386
“…1983; Diamond, 1982; Harburg et aI., 1973; Holroyd & Gorkin, 1983; MacDougall, Dembroski, Dimsdale, & Hackett, 1985; also see Engebretson, Matthews, & Scheier, 1989), and others have suggested that emotional inhibition may be linked to cancer onset and progression (Gross, 1989; Temoshok, 1987).”
BackgroundSelf-citationEmotional states and physical health.
Salovey, P., Rothman, A. J., Detweiler, J. B., & Steward, W. T. (2000) · American Psychologist · doi:10.1037//0003-066x.55.1.110 · Cited by 903
“Emotional suppression has been hypothesized to be related to the development of coronary heart disease (Pennebaker, 1992) as well as the progression of cancer (Gross, 1989; Jensen, 1987; Temoshok, 1987), although such relationships have been difficult to demonstrate empirically (e.”
Background
Metadata
- Authors
- Gross, J.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
- Corresponding author
- Gross, James
- ORCID
- Gross, James
- Venue
- Social Science & Medicine
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1989-01
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 1239-1248
- ISSN
- 0277-9536 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2067221825
- Cited by
- 191
- References
- 74
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 8
- FWCI
- 1.47
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Social Science & Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › Cancer, Stress, Anesthesia, and Immune Response
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer survivorship and care
- Keywords
- emotional expression, cancer onset, tumor progression, psychosocial factors, biopsychosocial model, cancer mortality, psychosocial stress
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Psychological, Anger, Denial, Psychological, Emotions, Humans, Neoplasms, Personality, Repression, Psychology, Research
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review