The Guardian, 17 March 2009. The Working Group concluded there was limited evidence that night shift work causes breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer. Situated in the hypothalamus, the SCN receives information about light and dark levels from the retina of the eyes, and this information is sent to the body’s cells. Recently, the main characteristics, dissimilarities, and findings of these studies were critically reviewed (11, 31, 41). Breast cancer risk was … Night shift cancer risk for women. Long-term night shift workers should have regular physical examinations and cancer screenings.”. Introduction. The researchers only looked at night shift work done or started in the 10 years before the start of the study. “Cells need the light cue, which is like a reset button for the clock. During follow-up through 2007, 717 incident cases of breast cancer were diagnosed. In the new study, Ma and colleagues sought to learn more about the link between long-term night shift work and cancer risk. Now, a new study suggests that for women, such working patterns could increase the risk of cancer. This includes nurses and flight attendants who work overnight. Night shifts significantly increase the risk of cancer in women, according to a study appeared in the periodical “American Association for Cancer Research.” Source: NDTV The study explained that the breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women around the world. Night shift work has up until recently been considered a risk factor for breast cancer, but a recent study led by researchers at the University of Oxford (1) has re-opened this debate and has cast doubt on whether night shift workers really are at increased risk of the disease. Night shift work and subsequent exposure to light at night disrupts human biologic rhythms resulting in circadian disruption, melatonin suppression, sleep deprivation and circadian gene deregulation, possibly involved in prostate cancer related pathways. BBC online, 17 March 2009 An increased risk of breast cancer was found among subjects who reported not sleeping during the period of the night when nocturnal melatonin levels are typically at their highest. Kurt Straif and others. J Natl Cancer Inst 2001; 93(20): 1557–62. Next, the researchers “knocked out” the Bmal1 and Per2 genes from mice and exposed the rodents to normal light/dark schedules. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size. Compared with mice exposed to the normal light/dark schedule, those exposed to the jet lag schedule experienced faster and more aggressive tumor growth, the team found. Discussing the possible reasons for the increased cancer risk among female nurses, Ma speculates that these women may have been more likely to undergo cancer screening due to their profession. Herein, we investigated the prospective association between different forms of work schedule and the risk of numerous cancers and all-cause cancer … Results from the few prior studies of night shift work and skin cancer risk have been mixed and not fully accounted for other potentially important health-related variables (eg, sleep characteristics). One group of mice was exposed to a normal light/dark schedule, which involved 12 hours of light followed by 12 hours of darkness. Painting, firefighting, and shiftwork, IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans, volume 98, IARC Working Group on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans, Lyon. This increased risk was found particularly among those subjects in the highest exposure groups. Interestingly, nurses who worked night shifts also had a higher incidence of lung cancer. What recognition of the occupational nature of prostate and colorectal cancer resulting from night work in Denmark? A growing number of studies have examined associations between night shift work and the risks of common cancers among women, with varying conclusions. The Mirror, 17 March 2009. Denmark compensates women who developed breast cancer after working nights... but Britain denies there's a risk. Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional, Overall cancer risk increased by 19 percent, Aphantasia: The inability to visualize images, The Recovery Room: News beyond the pandemic — January 8, COVID-19: Research points to long-term neurological effects. This protein is known to promote cancer growth. The case group included 494 women diagnosed with malignant breast cancer; the control group included 515 healthy women. Further supporting their findings, by analyzing human lung tumor samples, the researchers identified significantly lower levels of Bmal1 and Per2 gene expression, as well as lower expression of other genes that regulate circadian rhythm. There are several possible explanations for these different findings. MNT is the registered trade mark of Healthline Media. Shift work interferes with the body’s circadian rhythm – the approximate 24-hour cycle that regulates when we go to sleep and when we wake up, primarily in response to light and dark in the environment. Working night shifts disrupts the body’s circadian rhythm, which a number of studies have found may raise the risk of cancer development. More epidemiologic research using standardized definitions of night work metrics and breast cancer subtypes as well as other cancers is needed in order to improve the epidemiologic evidence in combination with animal models of night work. Comparative performance of prediction model, non-expert and tele-diagnosis of common external and middle ear … Overall, the new study revealed that women who worked long-term night shifts were at 19 percent greater risk of cancer, compared with women who did not work long-term night shifts. This reassuring headline follows analysis of information about more than 100,000 women in the UK over a 10-year period. This evaluation was based on comprehensive searches of the literature, screening of the studies using established inclusion criteria, and evaluation of study quality, including a standardised review of exposure assessment. All rights reserved. Current Environmental Health Reports 4 (3):325–339; International Agency for Research on Cancer (2010). In a study of Danish nurses, effects of night shift work on breast cancer risk were greatest for women who worked rotating hours that included the overnight (as opposed to the evening) shift, and for those who worked 12-hour shifts that alternated day and night work, as compared to shorter work periods. What can those who work the night shift do to reduce their risk of breast cancer now? The team explains that when these genes are disrupted, c-myc builds up, which triggers a rise in cell metabolism, growth, and division. Shift work has been linked to a wealth of poor health outcomes, including obesity, heart disease, and some types of cancer. “It is possible that women in these locations have higher sex hormone levels,” Ma suggests, “which have been positively associated with hormone-related cancers such as breast cancer.”. MNT is the registered trade mark of Healthline Media. The study’s findings showed female nurses who worked the night shift had an increased rate of breast cancer by 58%, gastrointestinal cancer by 35% and lung cancer by 28% compared to those who did not work night shift. Overall, there is a tendency of increased risk of breast cancer either after over 20 years of night shift or after shorter periods with many consecutive shifts. This research is being carried out at the University of Oxford Cancer Epidemiology Unit, and the report is due to be published in 2011. What signs of breast cancer are there other than a lump. Lead author Thales Papagiannakopoulos, of MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, and colleagues publish their findings in the journal Cell Metabolism. Researchers found that women who engaged in long-term night shifts were almost a fifth more likely to develop cancer when compared with women who did not work such shifts. Social Sharing Additionally, the researchers found that women who engaged in long-term night shift work had a 41 percent greater risk of skin cancer, a 32 percent greater risk of breast cancer, and an 18 percent increased risk of gastrointestinal cancer. In 2007, the International Agency for Research on Cancer found that shift work disrupted the body’s sleep-wake cycle and was ‘probably carcinogenic’. Each group was exposed to different light/dark schedules, and the team analyzed the rodents’ gene activity and tumor growth. Nurses who work rotating night shifts may be at a higher risk for breast cancer, according to a systematic review. In a separate analysis, the researchers looked at whether long-term night shift work among female nurses was linked to the risk of six cancer types. Daily Mail, 17 March 2009. A handful of large studies of cancer risk factors have found that working the night shift, as nearly 15 percent of Americans do, boosts the chances of developing cancer. Researchers at Paris-Saclay University, with colleagues from Inserm and Inrae, studied the association between night work and increased tumour aggressiveness. The Breast Cancer … Read about some of the top products available for purchase. Night Shift and Cancer: The Link. Experimental research just published in Nature Communications gives the molecular basis for asserting that it may well be. Shorter stints on a night shift do not appear to be as dangerous as long-term nighttime work. What recognition of the occupational nature of prostate and colorectal cancer resulting from night work in Denmark? The authors say their findings shed light on how shift work and other factors that disrupt the circadian clock may lead to cancer development: “We demonstrate that both physiologic perturbation (jet lag) and genetic mutation of the central circadian clock components decreased survival and promoted lung tumor growth and progression. A person with sleep paralysis will wake up but be unable to move. / Night shift work and breast cancer : a pooled analysis of population-based case–control studies with complete work history. In sum, some crucial links are still missing to fully understand the carcinogenic potential of night shift work. We prospectively examined the relationship between working rotating night shifts and the risk of colorectal cancers among female participants in the Nurses’ Health Study. To reach their findings, the team genetically modified mice to develop non-small cell lung cancer, which is a form of lung cancer that accounts for around 80-85 percent of all cases. “Another possible explanation for the increased cancer risk in this population may relate to the job requirements of night shift nursing, such as more intensive shifts,” adds Ma. They created a simulated jet-lag situation for mice… 369-379. W orking the night shift is linked to a number of health issues, from heart disease to obesity to sleep disorders—and even cancer. People Also Like: World Cancer Day Additionally, he wants to assess how disruption to the circadian rhythm may influence the development of other forms of cancer. A person with sleep paralysis will wake up but be unable to move. The Working Group concluded there was limited evidence that night shift work causes breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer. “If you disrupt these genes in every cell of the body, the light cues that you normally receive do not apply,” notes Papagiannakopoulos. Although observational studies have associated night-shift work with an increased risk of breast cancer, the effect of night-shift work on the risk of other cancers is not known. This population was also discovered to have an increased risk of digestive system cancer and skin cancer. In six out of ten studies, a statistically significant association between night shift work and risk of breast cancer has been shown (OR = 2.2; 95% CI: 1.1-4.5 in nurses in Norway with > 30 years of night shift work). For more than 30 years, scientists have believed that working night shift increases the risk of developing breast cancer, but now a new long-term study has debunked that theory. Hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals, adjusted for major breast cancer risk factors, were calculated. 4. pp. For prostate cancer, 2 studies found elevated risk (39, 40) and one did not . MIT biologists have now found a link that may explain this heightened risk. On looking at specific cancers, the researchers found that women who worked long-term night shifts were at even greater risk of skin cancer, breast cancer, and lung cancer. A meta-analysis of international data confirms a positive association between long-term night shift work and an increased overall risk for cancer in women, particularly breast cancer. For a few seconds, they may feel afraid, and hear or see things that are not there…, A lump in the breast can be a sign of breast cancer, but other changes in the breast can also signify this condition. Daily Mail, October 7 2016. The case–control study was conducted from 2015–2019 in the Łódź region. Previous research has looked at the association between working night shift and breast cancer, but Ma’s study looked at whether long-term night shift work in women was associated with risk for 11 types of cancer. A 2007 report by the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified night-shift work as possibly carcinogenic to humans, emphasizing, in particular, its association with breast cancer. What signs of breast cancer are there other than a lump. For their study, the researchers looked at how disruption to light and dark cycles affect Bmal1 and Per2 gene activity, and how this might influence cancer development. Night shift work does not increase the risk of breast cancer, finds a UK study covering analysis of 102,869 women over 10 years. Our findings demonstrate that both systemic and somatic disruption of circadian rhythms contribute to cancer progression.”. In a dose-response analysis, it was also found that each additional 5 years of night shift work was associated with 3.3 percent increase in breast cancer risk, the researchers report. This population was also discovered to have an increased risk of digestive system cancer and skin cancer. The mice were divided into two groups. Chronotype is an individual characteristic that may relate to … The study looked in detail at shift work and time spent working shifts, and at different types of breast cancer. Papagiannakopoulos and colleagues describe two genes within cells that play a role in circadian clock regulation: Bmal1 and Per2. Most studies on shift work and cancer have focused on breast cancer and there is some evidence that people who have worked night shifts are at a slightly increased risk of developing breast cancer. This, too, led to more rapid tumor growth. Ma adds that he hopes that this research will encourage larger cohort studies, in order to confirm the link between long-term night shift work and cancer among women. The average age of the women in th… Night shift work was associated with women having an increased risk of breast, skin, and gastrointestinal cancer, according to a meta-analysis. The team used these data to assess how long-term night shift work was associated with the risk of developing 11 cancer types. association of night shift work with breast cancer or other cancer types. CBD topicals offer a wide range of benefits from pain management to blemish-free skin. These results might help establish and implement effective measures to protect female night shifters. Women employed on night shifts for a longer duration of time had a 41 percent increase in their risk for skin cancer, a 32 percent increase in breast cancer risk, and an 18 percent increased risk of all cancers of the digestive system. The UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has commissioned its own report on the health impact of night-shift work, including its effects on breast cancer risk. Lipases, for example, help digest fat…, © 2004-2021 Healthline Media UK Ltd, Brighton, UK, a Red Ventures Company. Urinary 6-Sulfatoxymelatonin Levels and Risk of Breast Cancer in Postmenopausal Women. Finally, the imprinting of maternal night shift work exposure on offspring cancer outcomes has never been investigated. This can fuel cancer development. Study co-author Xuelei Ma, Ph.D., of the West China Medical Center at Sichuan University in China, and colleagues recently reported their findings in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. “Our study indicates that night shift work serves as a risk factor for common cancers in women. Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional, ‘Jet lag’ schedule fueled tumor growth in mice, Bmal1, Per2 disruption leads to build-up of cancer-promoting protein, when the production of a protein c-myc occurs, Read how night shift work may affect women more than men, Aphantasia: The inability to visualize images, The Recovery Room: News beyond the pandemic — January 8, COVID-19: Research points to long-term neurological effects. "Night shifts do not increase breast cancer risk, study concludes," reports The Guardian. Lifetime night-shift exposure indices were created using a job exposure matrix. Evidence on other common cancers, such as prostate cancer, is scarce. Web of Science; Google Scholar; Related articles in PubMed. It said that nurses and flight attendants are the two occupations that tend to work nights most frequently. When you lose that cue, you lose the normal rhythms in every cell in your body,” explains Papagiannakopoulos. 1 It was with great interest that we read their brief report in The Lancet Oncology. The study also found the risk of breast cancer for these women became greater over time. Other large and informative studies did find a positive association between night shift work and these cancer types. It found no convincing evidence that night shift work increases the risk of any type of breast cancer. Hypoallergenic pillows are sleeping pillows that may reduce or prevent allergic reactions to certain triggers, such as dust mites. 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