Abstract: At present, light pollution (exposure to light-at-night) both in the form of occupational exposure during night work and as a personal choice and life style, is experienced by numerous night-active members of our society. Disruption of the circadian rhythms induced by light pollution has been associated with cancer in humans. There are epidemiological evidences of increased breast and colon cancer risk in shift workers. An inhibition of the pineal gland function with exposure to the constant light (LL) regimen promoted carcinogenesis whereas the light deprivation inhibits the carcinogenesis. Treatment with pineal indole hormone melatonin inhibits carcinogenesis in pinealectomized rats or animals kept at the standard light/dark regimen (LD) or at the LL regimen. These observations might lead to use melatonin for cancer prevention in groups of humans at risk of light pollution.

Abstract: The relationship between circadian phototransduction and circadian-regulated processes is poorly understood. Melatonin, commonly a circadian phase marker, may play a direct role in a myriad of physiologic processes. The circadian rhythm for pineal melatonin secretion is regulated by the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). Its neural source of light input is a unique subset of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells expressing melanopsin, the primary circadian photopigment in rodents and primates. Action spectra of melatonin suppression by light have shown that light in the 446-477 nm range, distinct from the visual system's peak sensitivity, is optimal for stimulating the human circadian system. Breast cancer is the oncological disease entity whose relationship to circadian rhythm fluctuations has perhaps been most extensively studied. Empirical data has increasingly supported the hypothesis that higher risk of breast cancer in industrialized countries is partly due to increased exposure to light at night. Studies of tumor biology implicate melatonin as a potential mediator of this effect. Yet, causality between lifestyle factors and circadian tumor biology remains elusive and likely reflects significant variability with physiologic context. Continued rigorous empirical inquiry into the physiology and clinical implications of these habitual, integrated aspects of life is highly warranted at this time.

Abstract: Breast cancer risk is high in industrialized societies, and increases as developing countries become more Westernized. The reasons are poorly understood. One possibility is circadian disruption from aspects of modern life, in particular the increasing use of electric power to light the night, and provide a sun-free environment during the day inside buildings. Circadian disruption could lead to alterations in melatonin production and in changing the molecular time of the circadian clock in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN). There is evidence in humans that the endogenous melatonin rhythm is stronger for persons in a bright-day environment than in a dim-day environment; and the light intensity necessary to suppress melatonin at night continues to decline as new experiments are done. Melatonin suppression can increase breast tumorigenesis in experimental animals, and altering the endogenous clock mechanism may have downstream effects on cell cycle regulatory genes pertinent to breast tissue development and susceptibility. Therefore, maintenance of a solar day-aligned circadian rhythm in endogenous melatonin and in clock gene expression by exposure to a bright day and a dark night, may be a worthy goal. However, exogenous administration of melatonin in an attempt to achieve this goal may have an untoward effect given that pharmacologic dosing with melatonin has been shown to phase shift humans depending on the time of day it's given. Exogenous melatonin may therefore contribute to circadian disruption rather than alleviate it.