Psychosomatic and somatopsychic relationships in oncology
The article presents the review of researches aimed at explaining mutual relationships between biological and psychosocial factors in malignant neoplasm. In this field two directions of relations between the body and the soul are distinguished: psychosomatic and somatopsychic. The former refer to the role of psychosocial factors in the onset and course of cancer, while the latter deal with its psychosocial consequences. In the course of an illness psychosomatic and somatopsychic relationships penetrate each other. Their «synergetic» effects (interaction nonlinearities) impact on cancer treatment, outcomes and survival.