LYMPHOCYTE NF-ΚB AND DEMANDS OF ILLNESS MEASURES FROM WOMEN WITH STAGE II-IV BREAST CANCER DURING A COMPLEMENTARY YOGA INTERVENTION By

by Michelle A. Crowe, M.S. Washington State University May 2004 Chair: Sally E. Blank Breast cancer survivors are challenged by many psychosocial issues that increase the burden of survivorship and overall stress. Increased psychosocial distress alters nuclear expression of NF-κB, a regulator of gene transcription activities involved in innate immunity. Interventions that target psychosocial stressors may attenuate psychosocial distress and benefit immunity. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of an 8-week Iyengar yoga intervention on psychosocial stressors and nuclear expression of NF-κB in rIL-2 and PHA/PMA stimulated lymphocytes of women with breast cancer. Female subjects, previously diagnosed with stage II-IV HER-2 breast cancer and receiving Herceptin®, volunteered to join yoga (n=7) or treatment as usual (n=3) group. Lymphocytes obtained pre-(T1) and post-(T2) intervention were stimulated with rIL-2 or PHA/PMA. Cytosolic (C) and nuclear (N) extracts were analyzed for NFκB by luminescence. Demands of Illness Inventory (DOII) measured hardships or psychosocial stressors at T1 and T2. Data were analyzed by ANOVA with repeated measures, independent t-tests or Mann Whitney U tests. Because clinical treatment changes were required for the management of disease, the effects of yoga on lymphocyte