Biobehavioral Oncology introduces clinicians and trainees to a rapidly developing field that connects cancer biology with behavior, stress, and the social conditions that shape health. Cancer—responsible for nearly 10 million deaths globally in 2024—remains one of the world's most urgent health challenges, with an impact that extends far beyond diagnosis and treatment. Psychological factors, social relationships, and socioenvironmental conditions can affect how the body responds to disease and treatment, thereby affecting outcomes.

Bringing together advances from the past two decades, this book—the first of its kind—explains how behavioral and biological pathways interact in cancer development, progression, symptoms, and treatment response. It provides a clear foundation in stress biology and biobehavioral oncology and applies that foundation to practical questions in patient care.

Readers will find accessible coverage of topics that include

• Mechanisms through which psychological stress, the brain, and the nervous system can influence tumor biology through neuroendocrine, immune, inflammatory, and neural pathways, shaping the tumor microenvironment, cancer progression, and response to treatment
• How cancer and its treatments affect inflammation, stress biology, and the nervous system, contributing to symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and cognitive changes—and how these pathways may be targeted to reduce symptom burden
• The role of individual differences in disease and treatment factors in special populations such as patients in the perioperative period, children and adolescents, and cancer caregivers
• Evidence-based approaches for common psychological concerns and cancer- and treatment-related symptoms, including behavioral, medication-based, mindfulness-based, and palliative-care strategies
• Future directions in psycho-oncology, including how molecular and behavioral information may be used together to guide more personalized care

Rich in clinical detail but written for practical use, this volume includes take-home points, case examples, and clinical vignettes that make complex ideas easier to apply. As our understanding of cancer biology deepens and cancer care becomes increasingly complex, Biobehavioral Oncology highlights the dynamic, bidirectional interactions between cancer and the patient—how cancer and its treatments affect psychological and physiological functioning and how behavioral, neural, endocrine, and immune processes may in turn influence tumor biology, treatment response, and outcomes.