Sleep Hormone Can Supress Breast Cancer Tumor Growth

There have been several studies in the past saying that not getting enough sleep put women more at risk for cancer, and scientists may be able to explain that. A new study found that melatonin, a hormone produced in the brain, can suppress the growth and spread of cancer cells.

According to UPI.com, melatonin is a hormone produced by the brain at night which helps control the body's sleep and wake cycles. Researchers at the Michigan State University revealed that when they exposed lab-grown breast tumor cells to melatonin, they had limited growth, even when they were exposed to chemicals known to stimulate cancer development at the same exact time. The researchers also said that the technique they used in the experiments could be put to valuable use in future research for the treatment of the disease.

Dr. James Trosko, a researcher at Michigan State University, explained the experiment in a press release saying: "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."

The team of researchers was led by Juliana Lopes, a visiting researcher from Sao Paolo, Brazil. Before testing the theory, the team grew tumors from stem cells known as "mammospheres," a method perfected in the laboratory of James Trosko at MSU. The growth of these tumors was enhanced using chemicals that stimulate tumor growth including the natural hormone estrogen, and estrogen-like chemical Bisphenol A, or BPA, found in many types of plastic food packages, news-medical.net reported.

The melatonin treatment dramatically reduced the number and size of mammospheres when compared with the control group. Indian Express reported that when the cells were triggered by estrogen or BPA and treated with melatonin at the same time, the researcher team noticed that there was a great decrease in the number and size of mammospheres. The researchers concluded that low levels of melatonin may be related to an increased risk in the development of breast cancer.

"You can watch bears in the zoo, but you only understand bear behavior by seeing them in the wild," said David Arnosti, MSU biochemistry professor, director of MSU's Gene Expression in Development and Disease Initiative and co-author of the study. "Similarly, understanding the expression of genes in their natural environment reveals how they interact in disease settings. That's what is so special about this work."