Melatonin May Lower Prostate Cancer Risk
- Date:
- American Association for Cancer Research
- Summary:
- Higher levels of melatonin, a hormone involved in the sleep-wake cycle, may suggest decreased risk for developing advanced prostate cancer, according to results of new research.
Higher levels of melatonin, a hormone involved in the sleep-wake cycle, may suggest decreased risk for developing advanced prostate cancer, according to results presented at the AACR-Prostate Cancer Foundation Conference on Advances in Prostate Cancer Research, held Jan. 18-21.
Melatonin is a hormone that is produced exclusively at night in the dark and is an important output of the circadian rhythm, or the body’s inherent 24-hour clock. Many biological processes are regulated by the circadian rhythm, including the sleep-wake cycle. Melatonin may play a role in regulating a range of other hormones that influence certain cancers, including breast and prostate cancers.
“Sleep loss and other factors can influence the amount of melatonin secretion or block it altogether, and health problems associated with low melatonin, disrupted sleep, and/or disruption of the circadian rhythm are broad, including a potential risk factor for cancer,” said Sarah C. Markt, M.P.H., doctoral candidate in the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. “We found that men who had higher levels of melatonin had a 75 percent reduced risk for developing advanced prostate cancer compared with men who had lower levels of melatonin.
Story Source:
Role Of Pineal Gland In Aetiology And Treatment Of Breast Cancer
Lancet, Oct 14th 1978, Vol. 2, pages 814-816.
Michael Cohen, Marc Lippman and Bruce Chabner
Clinical Pharmacology and Medicine Branches, National Cancer InstituteNational Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.A.
This paper cited 44 papers and summed up their results into the hypothesis in that:
- Diminished functions of the pineal gland depress its melatonin production.
- Depressed melatonin production allows for ovarian growth and greater hormonal production.
- Greater hormonal production leads to earlier sexual maturation, early puberty and greater breast cancerdevelopment.
The hypothesis that diminished function of the pineal gland may promote the development of breast cancer inhuman beings is suggested by the relation between breast cancer and prolonged oestrogen excess, and by the observation that thepineal secretion, melatonin, inhibits ovarian oestrogen production, pituitary gonadotrophin production, and sexual development andmaturation.
Their points on this are:
They mention that factors that can impair pineal secretion are:
- Differences in visual stimulation, either by blindness or by darkness at night,
- Increased pineal calcification,
- Changes in feedback hormones by peripheral endocrine secretions.
They sum up by writing that: Our hypothesis also suggests that melatonin, by suppression of oestrogensecretion, or by direct inhibitory effects on breast tissue, might suppress induction of breast cancer.
Sleep May Protect Against Prostate Cancer
Men who sleep well at night may be at less risk of developing advanced prostate cancer, according to researchers from Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Iceland in Reykjavik. In a study led by Sarah Markt, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Epidemiology at HSPH, men who slept longer and with fewer interruption had increased levels of the sleep hormone melatonin in their urine and were 75% less likely to develop advanced prostate cancer than those with less melatonin.
Further prospective studies to investigate the interplay between sleep duration, sleep disturbance, and melatonin levels on risk for prostate cancer are needed, said Markt, who presented the findings January 19, 2014 at the American Association for Cancer Research Conference on Advances in Prostate Cancer Research in San Diego.
This is the first study to show a link between melatonin levels and prostate-cancer risk using urine samples collected before the men were diagnosed with the disease. Melatonin is produced in the brain in response to darkness and is influenced by the amount and quality of sleep. Men who wake multiple times during the night or who work nightshifts may be more at risk for disrupting production of the hormone.
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Animal And Laboratory Data
Laboratory studies suggest that melatonin is a powerful antioxidant that also stimulates some parts of the immune system, but it’s not known if this effect occurs in human beings.
Melatonin seems to inhibit some cancer cells from growing when it is directly applied to these cells in laboratory dishes and in animal studiesthis effect has been seen in breast cancer and melanoma.
Studies in humans, however, do not suggest any anticancer effect. Based on the in vitro data, some scientists have reasoned that immune stimulation, if present in vivo, might not be a good thing in all cases.
For instance, the wrong kind of immune stimulation in patients with leukemia or lymphoma could theoretically be counter-productive, since these cancers involve malignancy of immune cells in the lymph system, bone marrow, and blood.
Melatonin in experimental models has shown some anti-cancer properties, and stimulation of the immune system is thought to be involved. A study by Miller suggested that melatonin participates in the activation of lymphocytes and monocytes/macrophagesdifferent types of white blood cells. Lymphomas are cancers that arise from the lymphocytes.
Lights At Night And Prostate Cancer Risks In Men
There are many organizations and web pages out there that strive to collect money from you to find a curefor some cancer
. These pages are not one of them. It is the philosophy of this page to help prevent health problems by raisingthe awareness of a man-made factor that can increase their risk of occurring, of which seems to include certain cases of cancer.Just as there are many different paths that one can take to get to a particular designation, there are many possible sources orfactors that can cause errors in our cell’s genetic coding that lead to cancer. Understanding those sources and avoiding shouldbe our first step to maintain health. However, light pollution is one factor that isincreasingly hard to avoid due to its pervasiveness
in society and the fact that it is growing exponentially. It isone factor that we inflict upon each other, near and far. It is one factor that we pay each and every night to make. And it isone factor that anyone can help correct.
As a quick introduction , here is a recently covered article in a seriesabout night work on CNN.com. Then, ifyou want to know what to do to correct this problem from affecting yourself or your neighbors, head over to ourLight Pollution Prevention page for ideasand tips.
Summary: Does light pollution directly cause cancer? No. Unlike inastronomy, light itself is not the problem.
It is our biological reactions to the light that is the problem.
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Melatonin And Birth Control: Does It Affect The Pill And Is It Safe
July 3, 2021 by Eve
Melatonin is a supplement designed to improve the quality of your sleep, but many women fear it may interact or cancel out their birth control.
This article examines precisely what melatonin is, how it is used, whether it can affect your birth control pills, and possible natural alternatives.
Neuroprotective Effects Of Melatonin In Breast Cancer Patients
In a clinical trial done by the researchers from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul and La Salle University Center in Brazil and Harvard Medical School in the United States, they evaluated the effects of administration of melatonin before and during the first cycle of adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer on cognition, depressive symptoms and sleep quality in 36 Breast Cancer Patients . The study found a neuroprotective effect of melatonin to counteract the adverse effects of adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer on cognitive function, sleep quality and depressive symptoms.
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Impact Of Melatonin On Survival In Prostate Cancer Patients
Researchers from the A.M. Granov Russian Research Center for Radiology and Surgical Technologies of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation and N.N. Petrov National Medical Research Center of Oncology in Russia carried out a retrospective study including 955 patients of various stages of prostate cancer who received combined melatonin hormone and radiation treatment from 2000 to 2019.
The study found that in prostate cancer patients with poor prognosis, the mean overall survival in patients taking melatonin hormone was 153.5 months compared to 64.0 months in patients who did not use it. The 5-year overall survival rates were also high in the prostate cancer patients who received melatonin compared to those who didnt receive it . Melatonin administration also reduced the risk of deaths due to prostate cancer by more than twice.
Other Possible Melatonin Side Effects
- Melatonin and birth control effects melatonin supplements may not be safe for women trying to get pregnant. It seems that melatonin has similar effects as birth control, making it more difficult for women to reach ovulation and become pregnant. Some evidence shows that lower doses, up to 3mg are safe, but there is not enough research to prove that.
- Melatonin and bleeding disorders it is believed that regular melatonin intake can worsen the symptoms and effects of bleeding disorders. Studies show that melatonin may slow blood clotting or coagulation, which may lead to excessive bleeding and bruising.
- Melatonin and epilepsy studies and current data show that melatonin can trigger or worsen epilepsy and seizure frequency in some people. While some experts argue otherwise, some professionals do not recommend melatonin intake in people who are prone to having epileptic or other types of seizures not even small doses.
- Melatonin and transplant recipients because melatonin can increase the immune function, it might interfere with immunosuppressive therapy used by transplant recipients.
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Melatonin Effect On Tissue And Metastasis
Summary of melatonin activity in restraining cancer hallmarks. BAX/BAK, proapoptotic proteins NF-B, nuclear factor kappa B JNK, c-Jun N-terminal kinase VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor IGF-1R, insulin like growth factor 1 receptor HIF-1, hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha STAT3, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 MAPK, mitogen-activated protein kinase PTEN, phosphatase and tensin homolog.
How Light Affects Human Melatonin Levels
A light pollution vs. melatonin summary: Researchers are concerned that certain health problems canbe caused by a long term suppression of our naturally and nightly occurring hormone melatonin. This hormone, made by the pinealgland under our brains, is only secreted when it is dark. It regulates our circadian sleep/wake cycles and other hormonal glandsand offers us antioxidant protections. While there are different factors that can prevent the pineal gland from making melatonin,such as its calcification due to old age, this web page has been following the particular factor on the gland by light pollutionat night. Researchers are finding that exposure to bright nocturnal light decreases the human body’s production of melatonin. Adecrease in melatonin production has been linked to higher rates of certian cancers, such as breast cancer in women and prostatecancer in men. A bit more details on these steps follows.
The papers that have been reviewed are reorganized by subject and by date in this listing. I have commentedon them in a chronological sequence below.Factors and conditions that suppress human melatonin levels:
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Melatonin In Cancer Treatment
Much less is known about melatonin when used in people who have cancer. One group of scientists systematically reviewed the effects of melatonin when given together with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, supportive care, and palliative care in patients with metastatic solid tumorsnot leukemia or lymphoma. In this study, melatonin was not associated with added toxicity or reduced treatment efficacy, and it seemed to help with some chemotherapy side effects.
Impact Of Melatonin On Survival In Different Cancer Patients
In a meta-analysis of over 2,754 articles and studies done on the topic, researchers from Qingdao University in China shortlisted 20 randomized clinical trial studies to assess the efficacy of melatonin in cancer therapy. The data spanned between 1992 to 2014. Data from multiple tumor types including 13 lung cancer studies, 11 digestive system tumors, 7 breast cancer studies and 2 studies each of prostate cancer, kidney cancer and melanoma and 1 study each of head and neck cancer and glioma/brain cancer were evaluated for impact of melatonin. The interventions in these studies were melatonin mostly taken at a dosage of 20mg/day orally, taken at night time, combined with their chemo or radiotherapy as the experimental group and chemotherapy alone without melatonin as control group. In this meta-analysis, the authors found that the melatonin group had improvements in tumor remission rates and also a significantly enhanced overall survival rate of 27.98% while compared to the control group of 14.46%. Additionally, they also saw lower chemotherapy side-effects such as neurotoxicity in the melatonin group when compared to the control group. .
Foods to Eat After Cancer Diagnosis!
No two cancers are the same. Go beyond the common nutrition guidelines for everyone and make personalized decisions about food and supplements with confidence.
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Effect Of The Drugs On Psa Expression In Prostate Cancer Lncap Cells
shows the most frequently prescribed drugs for elderly men, including the drugs for the treatment of chronic diseases . Firstly, the effects of the drugs listed in on the viability of androgen receptor -positive prostate cancer LNCaP cells were examined. LNCaP cells were treated with each drug at a concentration of 150 M for 24 h. As shown in , no significant effect was identified on cell viability at concentrations of 20 M, with the exception of amlodipine and lansoprazole. Based on these results, the treatment concentrations were determined to be 2 M for amlodipine, 10 M for lansoprazole and 20 M for the other drugs to examine the effects of the drugs on PSA expression.
Who Shouldnt Take Melatonin
When considering all the side effects and possible melatonin interactions with certain medication, the following groups should avoid taking melatonin
- People suffering from inflammatory or autoimmune diseases,
- Pregnant or breastfeeding women,
- Ovulating women trying to get pregnant,
- People who have responsible jobs, where sleepiness and drowsiness can cause possible safety problems,
- People with epilepsy or a history of seizures,
- People with mood, behavior, or personality disorders,
- People with bleeding disorders,
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What Are The Possible Side Effects Of Melatonin
Get emergency medical help if you have signs of an allergic reaction: hives difficult breathing swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.
Although not all side effects are known, melatonin is thought to be possibly safe when taken for a short period of time .
Common side effects may include:
- daytime drowsiness
- headache or
- dizziness.
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
How Melatonin Works To Fight Prostate Cancer
Melatonin plays a key role in the fight against prostate cancer. With the correct dosage of melatonin for your body clock, your body effortlessly does the heavy lifting for you while you are sleeping.
Understanding how melatonin works will help you see why the hormone is important for your bodys natural and inherent processes during your circadian rhythm.
At a conference in 2013, scientists mentioned the beneficial effects of melatonin reducing the risk of advanced prostate cancer in patients with higher melatonin levels compared to those with low melatonin.
One significant study in 928 men showed that men who had higher levels of a melatonin metabolite, 6-sulfatoxymelatonin, experienced a 75% lower risk of advanced prostate cancer.
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What You Need To Know
Melatonin is known as the sleeping hormone, but it plays a bigger role in the body than most would presume. Those with neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimers and Parkinsons, have decreased production of melatonin and can benefit from supplementation. Melatonin does this by easily diffusing into cells and crossing the blood-brain barrier to protect against oxidative damage. Melatonins benefits have even been documented in several cancers. In one of these studies, patients with metastatic breast cancer showed an improved response to chemotherapy and increased anxiety relief by taking 20 mg of melatonin in the evening. These studies are proving that melatonin does more than just aid in sleep learn more about these unexpected benefits of melatonin in this article.
Are Melatonin Supplements Safe
Melatonin is likely safe for most people when taken for a short-term, studies show. However melatonin may cause side effects including headache, daytime sleepiness, short-lived depression symptoms, stomach cramps, dizziness and irritability.
Melatonin supplements should be avoided in pregnancy, during breastfeeding or when trying to conceive. Children or adolescents should not use melatonin supplements as melatonin may interact with other hormones and interfere with their development.
There is some evidence that melatonin acts as an antioxidant, so it may interfere with some cancer treatments, according to the American Cancer Society. Patients currently undergoing cancer treatment should speak with their doctors before taking melatonin supplements.
Melatonin may increase the strength of the immune system, which can cause problems for people with severe allergies, rheumatoid arthritis, lymphoma and other conditions linked to overactive immune systems, according to the American Cancer Society. People with immune system disorders should speak with a doctor before taking melatonin supplements as melatonin may weaken the effectiveness of immunosuppressants.
Several drugs and treatments may interact with melatonin. Birth control increases melatonin levels in the body, so taking melatonin supplements may cause high melatonin levels. Taking melatonin supplements alongside sedatives such as benzodiazepines may cause excessive sleepiness.
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Melatonin In Cancer Prevention And Treatment
Though melatonin is a hormone that the brain produces naturally, you might know it better as an over-the-counter remedy for jet lag and sleep disturbances. The brains pineal gland secretes melatonin in a 24-hour cycle. It’s also produced in the skin, the retina of the eye, and the bone marrow.
In nature, the production of melatonin peaks at nighttime, and it’s inhibited by the light of day. With darkness comes increasing levels of melatonin, bringing on lethargy and calmand hopefully, sleep. Other factors and hormones such as serotonin are also important, however, in regulating the bodys sleep-wake cycles.