The presence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in patients with cancer appears to be accompanied by poorer outcomes. However, the mechanisms underlying such association are unknown. We hypothesize that the constitutive characteristics of OSA, namely, intermittent hypoxia and sleep fragmentation, promote changes in the tumor microenvironment that ultimately lead to a disadvantageous immunosurveillance, thereby accelerating tumor proliferation and enhancing its invasiveness.
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Gozal et al. (2014) studied this question.
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