Light-at-night, circadian disruption and breast cancer: assessment of existing evidence

Stevens, Richard G.

doi:10.1093/ije/dyp178

Cited by 305 publications

(224 citation statements)

References 100 publications

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“…Reduction of nocturnal pineal melatonin production is suggested as a pivotal element of the mechanisms linking night shift work and breast cancer (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13). From animal studies it is known that melatonin reduces the growth of chemically induced mammary tumors (10,14).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Short-term effects of night shift work on breast cancer risk: a cohort study of payroll data

Vistisen¹,

Garde²,

Frydenberg³

et al. 2016

Scand J Work Environ Health

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Short-term effects of night shift work on breast cancer risk: a cohort study of payroll data

Vistisen¹,

Garde²,

Frydenberg³

et al. 2016

Scand J Work Environ Health

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“…In experimental studies on rodents, it has been shown that eradication of the SCN leads to disturbance of the circadian rhythm and increases the growth of malignant tumors (21). Exposure to light at night (LAN) has a similar effect on the circadian system (22). Animal experiments have demonstrated that LAN accelerates the growth of breast cancer cells (23).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Breast cancer among shift workers: results of the WOLF longitudinal cohort study

Knutsson¹,

Alfredsson²,

Karlsson³

et al. 2012

Scand J Work Environ Health

102

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This cohort study showed that shift work with night shifts is associated with increased risk of breast cancer, but not shift work without night shifts. Research on the disease mechanisms needs to be intensified. Original article Scand J Work Environ Health. 2013;39(2):170-177. doi:10.5271/sjweh.3323 Breast cancer among shift workers: results of the WOLF longitudinal cohort study Objective The aim of this study was to investigate whether shift work (with or without night work) is associated with increased risk of breast cancer. Affiliation MethodsThe population consisted of 4036 women. Data were obtained from WOLF (Work, Lipids, and Fibrinogen), a longitudinal cohort study. Information about baseline characteristics was based on questionnaire responses and medical examination. Cancer incidence from baseline to follow-up was obtained from the national cancer registry. Two exposure groups were identified: shift work with and without night work. The group with day work only was used as the reference group in the analysis. Cox regression analysis was used to calculate relative risk. ResultsIn total, 94 women developed breast cancer during follow-up. The average follow-up time was 12.4 years. The hazard ratio for breast cancer was 1.23 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.70-2.17] for shifts without night work and 2.02 (95% CI 1.03-3.95) for shifts with night work. When including only women <60 years of age, the risk estimates were 1.18 (95% CI 0.67-2.07) for shifts without night work, and 2.15 (95% CI 1.10-4.21) for shifts with night work. ConclusionsOur results indicate an increased risk for breast cancer among women who work shifts that includes night work.

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“…Specifically, many are concerned that even small amounts of suppression may lead to negative health outcomes [32,33] and a working threshold of 200 lux (for one hour) would be too high because some melatonin might be suppressed. This is a legitimate concern because threshold is a construct based upon the physiological stimulus-response characteristics of a biological system in addition to perceived risk of misses and false positives [34].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Working Threshold for Acute Nocturnal Melatonin Suppression from “White” Light Sources used in Architectural Applications

Rea

Figueiro²

2013

J Carcinog Mutagen

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Retinal light exposures can decrease melatonin production at night. Since nocturnal melatonin suppression by light has been implicated as an endocrine disruptor and linked to certain diseases, such as diabetes, obesity and cancer, it is important to be able to estimate a threshold light level needed to reliably suppress melatonin. The present study was designed to develop a working threshold for melatonin suppression from "white" light that might be experienced by people in their living environments. Twenty-eight subjects participated in two studies. In addition to dark, control nights, subjects were exposed to 8, 22, and 60 lux at the cornea (study 1, n=14) and to 60, 200, and 720 lux (study 2, n=14) of a "warm white" light source (correlated color temperature of 2670 K). These corneal illuminance levels translate to modeled melatonin suppression levels of 1%, 2%, 6%, 19%, and 42%. In both studies, participants came to the laboratory for four nights, separated by one week. One blood sample was drawn in dim light at midnight and another blood sample was drawn after 60-minute exposure to each light condition (including dark). Using an orthodox statistical criterion for a Type I error of α < 0.05, only the 200 lux and the 720 lux exposures produced significant suppression levels (19% and 37%, respectively). Based upon a criterion modeled suppression level of 5% for a "cool white" light (6500 K), a corneal light exposure of 30 lux for 30 minutes from "white" light sources used in most architectural lighting applications is proposed as a conservative hypothesized working threshold for nocturnal melatonin suppression.

show abstract

Light-at-night, circadian disruption and breast cancer: assessment of existing evidence

Cited by 305 publications

References 100 publications

Short-term effects of night shift work on breast cancer risk: a cohort study of payroll data

Short-term effects of night shift work on breast cancer risk: a cohort study of payroll data

Breast cancer among shift workers: results of the WOLF longitudinal cohort study

A Working Threshold for Acute Nocturnal Melatonin Suppression from “White” Light Sources used in Architectural Applications

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