Rusin, Andrej, Seymour, Colin, Cocchetto, Alan et al. · International journal of molecular sciences · 2022 · DOI
This review compares ME/CFS with cancer-related fatigue, two conditions that share similar exhaustion symptoms. The authors examined research showing that both conditions may involve problems with stress hormones, immune system inflammation, energy production in cells, and genetic factors. They suggest these two different diseases might actually represent different points on a spectrum of how the body responds to stress, rather than being completely separate conditions.
Understanding shared biological mechanisms between CFS/ME and cancer-related fatigue could identify common biomarkers for diagnosis and treatment targets, potentially accelerating therapeutic development for ME/CFS. This comparative framework challenges the traditional siloing of these conditions and may help explain the symptom severity and heterogeneity observed in ME/CFS populations.
This review does not prove that CFS/ME and cancer-related fatigue are the same disease or even that they share identical biological causes. It is a narrative review synthesizing existing literature rather than presenting new experimental evidence, and the proposed stress-response continuum remains a hypothesis requiring prospective clinical validation.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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Primary citation
Rusin, Andrej, Seymour, Colin, Cocchetto, Alan, & Mothersill, Carmel (2022). Commonalities in the Features of Cancer and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS): Evidence for Stress-Induced Phenotype Instability?. International journal of molecular sciences. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23020691
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-rusin-2022-commonalities-features,
author = {Rusin, Andrej and Seymour, Colin and Cocchetto, Alan and Mothersill, Carmel},
title = {Commonalities in the Features of Cancer and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS): Evidence for Stress-Induced Phenotype Instability?},
journal = {International journal of molecular sciences},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.3390/ijms23020691},
note = {PubMed: 35054876},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/rusin-2022-commonalities-features},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/rusin-2022-commonalities-features
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