David E. Blask

TL;DR: The hypothesis that melatonin, at physiological concentrations, exerts a direct but reversible, antiproliferative effect on MCF-7 cell growth in culture support the hypothesis that this indoleamine has the potential to inhibit breast cancer growth by directly inhibiting cell proliferation.

TL;DR: The mutual reinforcement of interacting circadian rhythms of melatonin production, the sleep/wake cycle and immune function may indicate a new role for undisturbed, high quality sleep, and perhaps even more importantly, uninterrupted darkness, as a previously unappreciated endogenous mechanism of cancer prevention.

TL;DR: These mechanistic studies are the first to provide a rational biological explanation for the increased breast cancer risk in female night shift workers and show that the tumor growth response to exposure to light during darkness is intensity dependent and that the human nocturnal, circadian melatonin signal not only inhibits human breast cancer growth but that this effect is extinguished by short-term ocular exposure to bright, white light at night.

TL;DR: This work provides the first biological explanation of melatonin-induced enhancement of the efficacy and reduced toxicity of chemo- and radiotherapy in cancer patients and represents a potentially unifying model for the chronobiological inhibitory regulation of cancer growth by melatonin in the maintenance of the host/cancer balance.

TL;DR: A workshop of a diverse group of scientists is convened to consider how best to conduct research on possible connections between lighting and health and how prevention and treatment could be improved by application of this knowledge.