By Admin at 14 Sep 2016, 11:06 AM
Your brain produces the hormone melatonin in response to nighttime darkness. Its production plays a role in controlling your circadian rhythms and promotes sleep.
In addition, melatonin has antioxidant properties that may stimulate your immune system and is known to inhibit the growth of certain types of cancer cells, including breast cancer. Breast cancer has also been linked to lack of sleep, and this association could be due to a corresponding lack of melatonin production.
In a new study conducted by researchers at Michigan State University (MSU), melatonin’s apparent cancer-fighting powers were further revealed. First the researchers grew breast cancer tumors from stem cells.
The resulting tumors, known as mammospheres, were treated with estrogen and the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA), both of which are known to fuel cancer growth.
When treated with melatonin, however, the number and size of the mammospheres were significantly reduced compared to controls.
Even when the tumor cells were treated with the cancer-promoting estrogen and BPA, the melatonin treatment led to a greater reduction in the number and size of mammospheres. Study co-author David Arnosti, MSU biochemistry professor and director of MSU’s Gene Expression in Development and Disease Initiative, explained in a news release:
“This work establishes the principal by which cancer stem cell growth may be regulated by natural hormones, and provides an important new technique to screen chemicals for cancer-promoting effects, as well as identify potential new drugs for use in the clinic.”
Melatonin’s beneficial effects against cancer have been demonstrated when applied directly to tumor cells in laboratory and animal studies, but it’s unknown whether supplemental melatonin would have similar results.
However, past studies have also highlighted melatonin’s anti-cancer effects, including for use during chemotherapy treatment. One Danish study found melatonin reduced chemotherapy side effects and nearly doubled the chance of survival among patients.[1] Those researchers noted:
“Besides regulating the circadian rhythm it [melatonin] works as a natural antioxidant with immune stimulatory and anti-cancer properties … A number of studies have documented that when given in combination with chemotherapy to patients with disseminated disease, melatonin increases the overall one-year survival and reduces toxic side effects.”
If you’re considering the use of melatonin, be sure to discuss it with your health care providers. Melatonin may alter levels of estrogen, so this is especially important if you have been diagnosed with a hormone-sensitive cancer. Melatonin may also cause drowsiness, so caution should be used after its use.
Sources:
[1] Ugeskr Laeger. 2015 May 18;177(21):V10140568.
Genes & Cancer June 10, 2016
Medical Daily August 24, 2016
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
[i] Ugeskr Laeger. 2015 May 18;177(21):V10140568.
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