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IMAGE: A night shift schedule is associated with increased DNA damage and misalignment of the DNA repair mechanism, providing a possible explanation for the elevated risk of cancer in night shift. view more
Credit: Bala Koritala
SPOKANE, Wash. - New clues as to why night shift workers are at increased risk of developing certain types of cancer are presented in a new study conducted at Washington State University Health Sciences Spokane.
Journal of Pineal Research, the study involved a controlled laboratory experiment that used healthy volunteers who were on simulated night shift or day shift schedules. Findings from the study suggest that night shifts disrupt natural 24-hour rhythms in the activity of certain cancer-related genes, making night shift workers more vulnerable to damage to their DNA while at the same time causing the body s DNA repair mechanisms to be mistimed to deal with that damage.
March 8, 2021
Findings from the study suggest that night shift workers are at increased risk of developing cancer because night shifts disrupt natural 24-hour rhythms in the activity of certain cancer-related genes.
By Judith Van Dongen
WSU Health Sciences Spokane Office of Research
SPOKANE, Wash. – New clues as to why night shift workers are at increased risk of developing certain types of cancer are presented in a new study conducted at Washington State University Health Sciences Spokane.
Journal of Pineal Research, the study involved a controlled laboratory experiment that used healthy volunteers who were on simulated night shift or day shift schedules. Findings from the study suggest that night shifts disrupt natural 24-hour rhythms in the activity of certain cancer-related genes, making night shift workers more vulnerable to damage to their DNA while at the same time causing the body’s DNA repair mechanisms to be mistimed to deal with that damage.