Night Shift Work Causally Linked to an Increase in Breast Cancer

Posted on by

Today’s post comes from guest author Jon Gelman, from Jon L Gelman LLC, a respected colleague in New Jersey. Various authors of this blog have covered some of the risks that workers are exposed to on a regular basis. Those risks can lead to occupational diseases, which include certain types of cancer.

This study is one that makes some conclusions about how long-term night shift work can be linked to some breast cancers. So in addition to shift work causing sleep deficits, there is also concern about other effects shift work can have on a person’s physical body, especially in the long-term sense.

If someone you know has a medical condition that they think is work-related, it may be covered by workers’ compensation. But the relationships that the medical condition or even a worker’s death has to the workplace must be proven, attorney Brody Ockander wrote in a previous blog post. Please contact an experienced workers’ compensation attorney with questions about a specific situation.

Regardless of the shift you work, have a safe and productive week.

Working at night increases the risk of breast cancer according to a recent study.

Objectives The potential mechanisms that link night-shift work with breast cancer have been extensively discussed. Exposure to light at night (LAN) depletes melatonin that has oncostatic and anti-estrogenic properties and may lead to a modified expression of estrogen receptor (ER) α. Here, we explored the association between shift work and breast cancer in subgroups of patients with ER-positive and -negative tumors.

Methods GENICA (Gene–ENvironment Interaction and breast CAncer) is a population-based case–control study on breast cancer with detailed information on shift work from 857 breast cancer cases and 892 controls. ER status was assessed by immunohistochemical staining. Associations between night-shift work and ER-positive and -negative breast cancer were analyzed with conditional logistic regression models, adjusted for potential confounders.

Results ER status was assessed for 827 cases and was positive in 653 and negative in 174 breast tumors. Overall, 49 cases and 54 controls were “ever employed” in shift work including night shifts for ≥1 year. In total, “ever shift work” and “ever night work” were not associated with an elevated risk of ER-positive or -negative breast tumors. Night work for ≥20 years was associated with a significantly elevated risk of ER-negative breast cancer [odds ratio (OR) 4.73, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.22–18.36].

Conclusions Our case–control study suggests that long-term night-shift work is associated with an increased risk of ER-negative breast cancers. Further studies on histological subtypes and the analysis of other potentially relevant factors are crucial for discovering putative mechanisms

The report:  Rabstein SHarth VPesch BPallapies DLotz AJustenhoven CBaisch C,Schiffermann MHaas SFischer H-PHeinze EPierl CBrauch HHamann UKo Y,Brüning T, “Night work and breast cancer estrogen receptor status – results from the German GENICA study”, Scand J Work Environ Health 2013;39(5):448-455 doi:10.5271/sjweh.3360,  2010;36(2):163-179 2010;36(2):134-141
 
Read more ablout “breast cancer” and workers’ compensation:
Jul 02, 2013
Objectives Long-term night work has been suggested as a risk factor for breast cancer; however, additional studies with more comprehensive methods of exposure assessment to capture the diversity of shift patterns are …
 
Dec 15, 2012
A semiconductor plant worker, who had been exposed to solvents and radiation while working 5 years at a semiconductor factory in South Korea has been held to have suffered an compensable disease related to her …
 
Mar 18, 2011
Fire fighters in Canada are supporting legislation that would establish a legal presumption that breast cancer is an occupationally related illness. The legislation also creates a presumption that 3 other cancers (skin, prostate …
 
Dec 05, 2012
Breast Cancer and the Environment: A Life Course Approach – Institute of Medicine: “With more than 230,000 new cases of breast cancer expected to be diagnosed in the United States in 2011, many wonder about the role …
 

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

This entry was posted in Night Shift Work and tagged .

One thought on “Night Shift Work Causally Linked to an Increase in Breast Cancer

  1. Pingback: What can we do about shift work? - Workers' Compensation Watch

Comments are closed.