Correlation between Anxiety Level and CD8+ Cell Count in Breast Cancer Patients

Abstract

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the world, with 9.6 million deaths each year. Many studies have shown that the prevalence of psychological distress among breast cancer patients is high, and they are at higher risk of developing anxiety and major depression. Prolonged stress and anxiety can affect one's immunity. CD8⁺ cells are immune cells that play an important role in destroying cancer cells. This study aims to determine the correlation of anxiety levels with the number of CD8⁺ cells in breast cancer patients. This study used analytic observation with a crosectional design in breast cancer patients from March to May 2024. Data were analyzed for normality test using Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and to determine the relationship between the two variables using Pearson test. HARS questionnaire was used to determine the level of anxiety, and BD FACS lyric tool to determine the number of CD8+ cells. Of the 30 respondents, the results showed that 30% of respondents did not experience anxiety (n=9) with an average CD8⁺ cell count of 518 cells/µL, 53% experienced mild anxiety (n=16) with an average CD8⁺ cell count of 484 cells/µL, and 17% experienced moderate anxiety with an average CD8⁺ cell count of 246 cells/µL. The results of statistical analysis of pearson correlation is 0.077. This shows that there is no correlation between anxiety levels and CD8⁺ cell counts in breast cancer patients. The effect of anxiety on the immune system in breast cancer is very complex. So it requires additional research to explain completely.