Abstract
For centuries, the personality has been suspected to cause cancer. The first studies published on this hypothesis confirmed this idea and linked certain typologies or traits with an increased risk for cancer. The research was focused on the personality as a risk factor for lung cancer, which in the 1950s was in steep increase all over the industrialized world. These studies suffered from methodological limitations and the senior authors have later been linked to tobacco industry somehow limiting the credibility of the results published. Psychological risk factors for cancer may only be investigated following principles of causality in the design of scientific studies and later studies, applying a prospective design, which addressed bias and potential confounding in the design and analysis did not confirm the association. Today personality does not seem to be a risk factor for cancer overall or cancers suspected to be associated with endocrine or immunological dysfunction such as breast cancer or leukemia and lymphoma.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
