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Cited by 153Circadian rhythm and melatoninSleep and Work-Related FatigueCancer, Stress, Anesthesia, and Immune Response

Circulating melatonin and the risk of breast and endometrial cancer in women

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Viswanathan, Akila N., Schernhammer, Eva S.·2009·Cancer Letters
DOI 10.1016/j.canlet.2008.11.002PMC PMC2735793
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Abstract

Several decades of observational data have accumulated to implicate a potential role for melatonin in cancer prevention. Experimental studies suggest that the antineoplastic action of melatonin arises through many different mechanisms, including melatonin's antioxidant, antimitotic, and antiangiogenic activity, as well as its ability to modulate the immune system and alter fat metabolism. Melatonin interacts with membrane and nuclear receptors, and may be linked to the regulation of tumor growth. Of particular relevance to breast cancer risk, melatonin may also block the estrogen receptor ERalpha and impact the enzyme aromatase, which produces estradiol. A growing number of epidemiologic studies have evaluated the relationship between night shift work as well as how varying duration of sleep affects peak melatonin secretion at night. While the studies demonstrate lower nightly melatonin levels in night workers, the evidence for an association between sleep duration and melatonin production is less clear. Similarly, both case-control and prospective cohort studies have consistently linked night shift work with breast cancer risk and, more recently, endometrial cancer - another tumor highly sensitive to estrogens. While, to date, the evidence for an association between sleep duration and breast cancer risk is less convincing, overall, there is increasing support for a potentially important link between melatonin and breast cancer risk and perhaps the risk of other tumors. As evidence increases, modifiable factors that have been shown to affect melatonin production, such as night shift work, are likely to gain increasing recognition as potential public health hazards. Additional studies are needed to delineate further the potential of melatonin in cancer prevention.

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  • A recent meta-analysis adjusted for potential confounders in published studies of shift work and female breast cancer risk demonstrated a significantly increased risk of 40%.

    “A recent meta‐analysis 100, adjusted for potential confounders in published studies of shift work and female breast cancer risk, demonstrated a significantly increased risk of 40%.”

    From The inner clock-Blue light sets the human rhythm (2019) · cites this paper as [100]

    The ‘Night shift work and breast cancer risk’ section reports a meta-analysis of eight studies with an aggregate risk of 1.40 (95% CI, 1.19–1.65), supporting a statistically significant 40% increase. It says some individual studies controlled for breast-cancer risk factors, but does not establish that the meta-analysis itself adjusted for potential confounders. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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2 of the 90 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. [10]Willett WC Rockhill B Hankinson SE Hunter D Colditz GA Nongenetic Factors in the Causation of Breast Cancer 3 Philadelphia, PA Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins 2004
  2. [57]Schernhammer E Kroenke C Laden F Hankinson S Night Work and Melatonin Levels in Women Participating in the Nurses’ Health Study II: Associate with Breast Cancer Risk 2nd Symposium of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center Program in Breast Cancer 2005 Boston

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Authors
Viswanathan, A. N., & Schernhammer, E. S.
Affiliations
Brigham and Women's Hospital (US)
Corresponding author
Viswanathan, Akila N.
ORCID
Venue
Cancer Letters
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2009-08
Volume
281
Issue
1
Pages
1-7
ISSN
0304-3835 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.canlet.2008.11.002
PMC
PMC2735793
OpenAlex
W1991333402
Cited by
153
References
90
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 15
FWCI
0.92
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Cancer Letters (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Cancer Institute (K07CA117979, R01CA114534, CA114534)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Circadian rhythm and melatonin
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and Work-Related Fatigue
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Cancer, Stress, Anesthesia, and Immune Response
Keywords
melatonin, breast cancer risk, endometrial cancer risk, night shift work, sleep duration, estrogen receptor alpha, aromatase, estradiol, melatonin receptors, cancer prevention, antineoplastic mechanism, immunomodulation, fat metabolism
MeSH terms
Aromatase, Breast Neoplasms, Carcinoma, Cell Transformation, Neoplastic, Circadian Rhythm, Estradiol, Female, Humans, Melatonin, Obesity, Prospective Studies, Retrospective Studies, Risk, Serotonin, Sleep, Work Schedule Tolerance, Case-Control Studies, Endometrial Neoplasms, Estrogen Receptor alpha, Lipid Metabolism

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