Humans have been fighting against tumors for more than 100 years, and treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy have been introduced one after another, and new therapeutic techniques such as immunotherapy, targeted therapy and gene therapy have also emerged one after another. In the midst of a series of intensive attacks on tumors, some scientists are proposing an eye-opening method of prevention and treatment: happiness! The theory of “cancer personality” has a deep foundation in the society. Many people are convinced that people with certain personality traits (such as neuroticism, irritability, pessimism or isolation) are more likely to be hunted by cancer, while cheerfulness and optimism can help prevent and treat cancer. Is there any basis for this view? 1. The tumors of “happy mice” became smaller and even disappeared Cancer death is a daunting topic. More than 10 years ago, the World Health Organization proposed the explanation of three “1/3” cancers, that is, 1/3 cancer patients can be prevented and treated through primary prevention; 1/3 cancer can be significantly improved or even cured through secondary prevention; 1/3 cancer can be improved through reasonable comprehensive treatment. “This idea was proposed more than 10 years ago and seems visionary today. In 2010 the journal Cell published the findings of a foreign laboratory. Laboratory personnel put a group of mice in an “enriched living environment”, that is, a cage with a variety of mice’s favorite toys, more than eight mice in each cage, to ensure that they enjoy their interaction, living in this state of mice is called “happy mice The mice living in this state are called “happy mice”. Comparing the “happy mice” with the control group, the researchers found that the tumors in the “happy mice” became smaller, proving that benign mental stimulation had an inhibitory effect on the tumors. The researchers suggested a “magical pathway”: benign cortical stimulation – hippocampus (the “happy mice” had high expression of “brain-derived neurotrophic factor”) – autonomic nerves (mainly sympathetic nerves) – and the “happy mice” had high expression of “brain-derived neurotrophic factor”. mainly sympathetic nerves)-adipose tissue (adipokines)-tumor suppression. The experiments involved melanoma, pancreatic cancer, colonic polyposis, etc. Brain of adult mice The researchers also created a “rich living environment” during the rearing of the experimental mice by placing mazes, toys, houses, and pulleys in the rearing cages. Under infrared photography, the reporter saw that the mice not only play during the day, but also play a lot at night, active performance; while the control group of mice are calm and even a little sluggish. Conclusion Comparing the two groups of mice, we found that the tumor weight of the “happy mice” was lower than that of the control group, and some tumors not only became smaller, but also disappeared. The experiment involved melanoma, pancreatic cancer, and lung cancer, all of which were similar. The tumor suppression rates were 43.1% for melanoma, 58.2% for Panc02 pancreatic cancer, and 36.5% for Lewis lung cancer. The researchers also found high expression of “brain-derived neurotrophic factor” in the hypothalamus of “happy mice”. In a few scattered laboratories around the world, scientists are gaining new evidence for the association of central regulatory systems with tumors. The Shanghai Institute of Oncology recently found that “benign mental stimulation may alter the metabolism of cancer cells while affecting the immune system.” This suggests that mental behavior may have an impact on tumors. 2. Tumors find opportunities to form independent kingdoms in the body It is necessary for us to reacquaint ourselves with tumors. There is a growing body of evidence that cancer is a systemic disease. Cancer can metastasize throughout the body Cancer is a systemic systemic dysregulation disease characterized by abnormal local tissue growth. The body has two major systemic regulatory systems: the central regulatory system and the peripheral regulatory system. The central regulatory system includes the systemic hormonal system (adrenal glands, gonads, thyroid, other hormonal organs); the autonomic nervous system, where there are sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves, control of the immune organs, thymus, spleen, etc. This is like the body’s “systemic” regulatory system. This is like the “central government” in the body. Peripheral regulatory system The peripheral regulatory system is found in various organs, including the liver, pancreas, digestive tract, lungs, kidneys, skin, adipose tissue, etc. This is like the “central government” of the body. This is like the “local government” in the body. This peripheral regulatory system is neglected by foreign countries. The Shanghai Institute of Oncology has focused on and studied both systems, and Zhang Zhigang’s research team found that there is a regulatory network of non-neural sources of neurotransmitters and their receptors, hormones and their receptors, and the local immune system in the liver. Previous research and development has found that adipocytes can synthesize estrogen and insulin-producing hormones, meaning that non-endocrine cells can also secrete hormones. These findings suggest that one or more sets of neurotransmitter-hormone-immune regulatory systems may also exist at the organ level. Professor Jianren Gu, a member of Chinese Academy of Engineering and a member of Shanghai Cancer Institute of Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, has made an analogy: the formation of tumor is the result of the central regulatory system “not acting” and the peripheral organ/tissue regulatory system “not acting”. “The tumor is the “triad society”, which expands itself, destroys the social stability and the police system (immune system). The human immune system is supposed to attack cancer cells, but it is “abetted” by tumor and turned into its umbrella. “Tumor is like forming an independent kingdom in the body, which is the root cause of tumor difficult to treat.” 3. Temperamental optimism and the expected treatment of tumors Previous studies have considered non-realistic optimism as a research bias; in early oncology clinical trials, this bias may have an impact on the informed consent of patients or subjects. However, optimism is not a single construct; it can also be defined as a general tendency, or so-called temperamental optimism (Dispositional optimism). In a recent study published in Cancer, researchers evaluated whether temperamental optimism was associated with high expectations of personal treatment outcomes (rather than treatment misperceptions) in patients or subjects in early oncology clinical trials. Results found that temperamental optimism was significantly associated with higher expectations of personal treatment outcomes, but not with therapeutic misperceptions. Temperamental optimism was weakly associated with non-realistic optimism. In multivariate analysis, both temperamental optimism and non-realistic optimism were found to be independently associated with higher desired personal treatment outcomes. Conclusions In early-stage oncology clinical trials, the current research data suggest that patients’ expectations of treatment outcomes are associated with a more positive outlook on life, or expectations of outcome bias for specific aspects of participation in the trial. Not all optimism is the same, and different types of optimistic tendencies may have different consequences in early-stage oncology clinical studies. Regarding temperamental optimism: Scheier et al. first introduced the concept of “temperamental optimism” in 1985, considering temperamental optimism as a general expectation of good future outcomes. They argued that optimism is a personality trait and that individuals with high temperamental optimism report positive expectations of future events and believe that the outcome will be positive. The researchers believe that this optimistic trait will help individuals deal with setbacks better and also make them have higher tolerance for setbacks. 4.Tumor treatment should not be “all about the tumor and no one in sight” The attention to individual patients has become one of the focuses of tumor prevention and treatment nowadays. Unfortunately, everyone is busy rehashing the mainstream ideas from abroad, but the real key issues we are still far from solving. Tumor is not isolated, other diseases can also cause tumor. In addition, the external factors in the primary prevention of tumor include chemical carcinogenesis, viruses, bacteria and other environmental factors. In other words, the environment we live in, as well as our lifestyle and diet, are related to the occurrence of cancer. The internal factors include neurological/hormonal/immune system disorders, in addition to the more familiar genetic factors. This again suggests a link between neurological stress and cancer, which has been a particular concern of scientists in recent years. In 2000, LeeHood proposed the concept of “4P medicine”, which is “preventive medicine”, “predictive medicine”, and “individual medicine”. It is an acronym for “preventive medicine”, “predictive medicine”, “individual medicine”, and “participatory medicine”. Among them, “preventive medicine” includes the primary prevention and two levels of prevention, namely early diagnosis and early treatment, as mentioned by the World Health Organization. It is worth noting that 4P medicine proposes the concept of “participatory medicine”, which emphasizes patient participation. Researchers have realized that tumor treatment is a process of re-establishing the equilibrium of the body, in which mental factors have a subtle relationship with the development of cancer, which requires doctors to pay attention to the mental state of patients. It is not enough to focus only on the tumor itself, but also on the person who has the tumor. “Seeing the disease but not the person” may be a misconception that we must correct in our understanding and practice.