Lack of sleep as a cause of breast cancer?

Study shows link between breast cancer and sleep deficit

03/09/2012

Lack of sleep is associated with a variety of health risks. Breast cancer susceptibility is also particularly high in women who sleep little or bad, according to a study by Case Western Reserve University researchers in Cleveland, Ohio..

As the authors of the study, Cheryl L. Thompson and Li Li, in the journal „Breast Cancer Research and Treatment report“, becomes one „shorter duration of sleep has been associated with increased risk of a number of medical conditions, including breast cancer.“ So far, however, no investigation in breast cancer patients to „Relationship of average sleep duration before diagnosis and cancer aggressiveness“ carried out, the US scientists justify their current study.

Connection between sleep duration and breast cancer
As part of their study, US researchers at the University of Cleveland surveyed over 400 breast cancer patients on their sleep habits and sleep duration over the last two years prior to breast cancer diagnosis. In addition, the researchers determined on the basis of a so-called „Oncotype DX“-Tests on 101 patients showed how aggressive the cancer was and how high the risk of relapse after treatment would be. They found that there was a clear correlation between sleep duration and aggressiveness of breast cancer and the risk of relapse in postmenopausal women. Co-author of the study, Li Li from the Department of Family Medicine and Social Health at the University of Cleveland, said that „too short and bad sleep a risk factor for many diseases such as overweight, diabetes or heart disease, but also one of the triggers for breast cancer after the menopause“ be.

Sleep as a possibility of breast cancer prevention?
The survey of breast cancer patients and the evaluation of cancer tests have clearly shown that women who sleep less than six hours a night after the menopause are at higher risk of developing breast cancer, the US scientists report. The women with lack of sleep showed in the „Oncotype DX“-Tests a much higher recurrence (risk of recurrence), according to Cheryl L. Thompson and Li Li. The relationship has also been confirmed taking into account other risk factors such as age, physical activity, smoking and the Body Mass Index (BMI). „This is the first study to show that women who regularly sleep fewer hours often have more aggressive breast cancer“, Report the US researchers. According to Thompson and Li could therefore „a targeted extension and better quality of sleep at night a previously underestimated preventive measure“ to be against breast cancer in women beyond menopause. Why the lack of sleep affects only so in the elderly patients so negative, but in young patients apparently without consequence in relation to the risk of breast cancer, the US researchers could not explain. They pointed out that differences in the development of breast cancer in pre- and post-menopausal women have been known for some time, which presumably can be attributed to the different effects of sleep deprivation. (Fp)

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