Table 4.
Correlations (Spearman’s ρ) Between Baseline Biomarkers and Symptom Cluster Improvement by Condition (Usual Care [UC; n = 24] vs. Mindfulness-Based Stressed Reduction for Breast Cancer Program [MBSR(BC); n = 17]) at 6 Weeks of Treatment Among Female Breast Cancer Survivors.
| Biomarker | Symptom cluster
|
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gastrointestinal
|
Cognitive/psychological
|
Fatigue
|
||||
| UC | MBSR(BC) | UC | MBSR(BC) | UC | MBSR(BC) | |
| Lymphocyte subsets (# of cells/μl of blood) | ||||||
| CD3+ | −.16 | .44* | −.31 | .31 | .10 | .58** |
| CD8+ | .17 | .38 | .05 | .38 | −.01 | .54** |
| CD4+ | −.11 | .37 | −.26 | .17 | .17 | .50** |
| CD4+CD8+ | .40* | .14 | −.10 | .61*** | .07 | .44* |
| NK cells | −.02 | .18 | −.26 | −.20 | .00 | .21 |
| B lymphocytes | −.21 | .44* | −.16 | −.01 | −.01 | .34 |
| Total lymphocytes | −.07 | .42* | −.24 | .27 | .17 | .58** |
| Mitogen-stimulated subsetsa | ||||||
| PHA stimulated | ||||||
| CD3+ | −.38* | .39 | .13 | .13 | .00 | .32 |
| CD3+CD69+ (activated) | −.31 | −.25 | .00 | .04 | −.02 | −.08 |
| CD3+IFN-γ+ (Th1) | .08 | .53** | .14 | .33 | .01 | .34 |
| CD3+IL-4+ (Th2) | .18 | .43 | −.14 | .27 | .28 | .54** |
| PMA and IO stimulated | ||||||
| CD3+ | −.22 | .43* | −.08 | .18 | .07 | .47* |
| CD3+CD69+ (activated) | .18 | −.16 | −.03 | .26 | .23 | .08 |
| CD3+IFN-γ+ (Th1) | .12 | .37 | .04 | .18 | .03 | .40 |
| CD3+IL-4+ (Th2) | −.07 | .37 | −.02 | .35 | .22 | .48* |
Note. UC = usual care; MBSR(BC) = mindfulness-based stress reduction program for breast cancer survivors; CD = cluster of differentiation; IFN = interferon; IL = interleukin; NK cells = natural killer cells; PHA = phytohemagglutinin; PMA/IO = phorbol myristate acetate/ionomycin; Th1 & Th2 = T helper 1 or 2 response.
a
All mitogen-stimulated subsets are percentage of T cells, with the exception of CD3+, which is percentage of lymphocytes.
*
p < .10.
**
p < .05.
***
p < .01.