Cancer
Medical Studies on Melatonin – Cancer
There have been studies on melatonin as an effective anti-cancer hormone for several decades. It has been demonstrated to alleviate the symptoms of the early-stage, progression and metastasis phases and have a positive impact on the course of the disease. The anti-oxidative and immunoregulatory properties of melatonin and its effect on tumour-specific cell division are responsible for this.
Melatonin inhibits tumour growth
As a “natural killer”, melatonin plays a key role in the uncontrolled growth of cells. Specifically, it reduces the cell division rate, for example by reducing telomerase activity, which results in the programmed cell death of the tumour cells. The researchers also found that melatonin possesses the ability to affect angiogenesis, which is the growth and formation of blood vessels that supply the tumour with oxygen and nutrients, thus facilitating its growth.
An effective accompaniment to therapy
The supportive effect of melatonin during conventional cancer treatments is also proven – for instance, the often toxic consequences of radiotherapy or chemotherapy can be mitigated using melatonin while also enhancing its effectiveness – according to the results of many studies. Studies have also shown that melatonin can affect the treatment resistance of some tumours, making them more susceptible to chemotherapy.
Medical Studies on Melatonin – Cancer
2019-07-01
Last year melatonin was 60 years old, or at least its discovery was 60 years ago. The molecule itself may well be almost as old as life itself. So it is time to take yet another perspective on our understanding of its functions, effects and clinical uses.
2019-06-26
Circadian rhythms (CR) are a series of endogenous autonomous oscillators generated by the molecular circadian clock which acting on coordinating internal time with the external environment in a 24-h daily cycle.
2019-05-20
Pancreatic cancer has a high mortality rate due to the absence of early symptoms and subsequent late diagnosis; additionally, pancreatic cancer has a high resistance to radio- and chemotherapy. Multiple inflammatory pathways are involved in the pathophysiology of pancreatic cancer.
2019-05-16
Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a type of malignancy with progressive metastasis having poor prognosis and lowered survival resulting from late diagnosis. The therapeutic approaches for the treatment of this incurable cancer are chemo- and radiotherapy.
2019-03-26
Ovarian cancer is one of the most common causes of morbidity related to gynecologic malignancies. Possible risk factors are including hereditary ovarian cancer, obesity, diabetes mellitus, alcohol consumption, aging, and smoking.
2018-07-02
There is considerable evidence that melatonin may be of use in the prevention and treatment of cancer. This manuscript will review some of the human, animal and cellular studies that provide evidence that melatonin has oncostatic properties.
2017-06-10
Premature ovarian failure is one of the side effects of chemotherapy in pre-menopausal cancer patients. Preservation of fertility has become increasingly important in improving the quality of life of completely recovered cancer patients.
2017-04-18
There is highly credible evidence that melatonin mitigates cancer at the initiation, progression and metastasis phases. In many cases, the molecular mechanisms underpinning these inhibitory actions have been proposed. What is rather perplexing, however, is the large number of processes by which melatonin reportedly restrains cancer development and growth.
2016-10-18
Melatonin is uncommonly effective in reducing oxidative stress under a remarkably large number of circumstances. It achieves this action via a variety of means: direct detoxification of reactive oxygen and reactive nitrogen species and indirectly by stimulating antioxidant enzymes while suppressing the activity of pro-oxidant enzymes.
2015-04-05
Evaluating the effectiveness of melatonin in prevention of radiation-induced oral mucositis.
2010-12-19
During the last 20 years, numerous clinical trials have examined the therapeutic usefulness of melatonin in different fields of medicine. The objective of this article is to review, in depth, the science regarding clinical trials performed to date.
2010-12-13
It is commonly accepted that melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine), the most relevant pineal secretory product, has oncostatic properties in a wide variety of tumors and, especially, in those identified as being hormonedependent.
2010-11-02
This review aims at describing the beneficial properties of melatonin related to its antioxidant effects. Oxidative stress, i.e., an imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen species and antioxidant defences, is involved in several pathological conditions such as cardiovascular or neurological disease, and in aging. Therefore, research for antioxidants has developed. However, classical antioxidants often failed to exhibit beneficial effects, especially in metabolic diseases.
2010-10-12
Pancreatic cancer is a highly lethal disease with a poor prognosis for long-term survival rate at all stages of invasiveness. It responds poorly to radio- and chemotherapy because the tumor cells are resistant to apoptosis.
2008-06-23
Sleep duration has been hypothesized to be inversely associated with breast cancer risk, possibly due to greater overall melatonin production in longer sleepers. However, data are inconclusive from the three studies conducted in Western populations on sleep duration and breast cancer risk.
2008-06-19
Low urinary melatonin levels have been associated with an increased risk of breast cancer in premenopausal women. However, the association between melatonin levels and breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women remains unclear.
2006-05-13
Cadmium (Cd) is a heavy metal affecting human health both through environmental and occupational exposure. There is evidence that Cd accumulates in several organs and is carcinogenic to humans.