Melatonin & Breast Cancer

[Guest guest]

Hi folks:

I heard about this on the radio this morning:

" Higher Urinary Melatonin Levels May Be Associated With Lower Breast

Cancer Risk

A new study has found that higher levels of a melatonin metabolite

are associated with a lower risk of breast cancer.

The production of melatonin--a hormone that the body produces only

during the dark phase of the light–dark cycle--is suppressed by

exposure to light during the night. Studies of night-shift workers

have found an association between night-shift work (a surrogate for

light exposure at night) and an increased risk of breast cancer, but

the association between melatonin levels and breast cancer risk has

been uncertain.

To examine the association between urinary melatonin levels and

breast cancer risk, Eva S. Schernhammer, M.D., Dr.P.H., and E.

Hankinson, Sc.D., of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical

School in Boston, conducted a prospective case–control study nested

within the Nurses' Health Study II cohort. They measured levels of a

major melatonin metabolite in the urine of 147 women with invasive

breast cancer and 291 matched control women.

Women in the highest quartile of melatonin metabolite levels had a

40% lower risk of invasive breast cancer compared with those in the

lowest quartile. The authors conclude that their data supports the

hypothesis that higher melatonin levels are associated with a lower

risk of breast cancer.

Contact: Amy Dayton , Public Affairs, Brigham and Women's

Hospital, 617-534-1603, asmith28@... "

My comment: For more information go to Google News and

enter " Melatonin breast cancer " .

Rodney.