Next Article in Journal
Association between Co-Morbidities and the Prevalence of Excessive Daytime Sleepiness over a Four-Year Period
Previous Article in Journal
2019 Annual Meeting of the Swiss Society for Sleep Research, Sleep Medicine, and Chronobiology (SSSSC)
Review

The Cancer Clock Is (Not) Ticking: Links between Circadian Rhythms and Cancer

Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2050, Australia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Clocks & Sleep 2019, 1(4), 435-458; https://doi.org/10.3390/clockssleep1040034
Received: 24 July 2019 / Revised: 30 August 2019 / Accepted: 10 September 2019 / Published: 20 September 2019
(This article belongs to the Section Clocks & Sleep in Human Basic Research and Neuroimaging)
Circadian rhythms regulate many physiological and behavioral processes, including sleep, metabolism and cell division, which have a 24-h oscillation pattern. Rhythmicity is generated by a transcriptional–translational feedback loop in individual cells, which are synchronized by the central pacemaker in the brain and external cues. Epidemiological and clinical studies indicate that disruption of these rhythms can increase both tumorigenesis and cancer progression. Environmental changes (shift work, jet lag, exposure to light at night), mutations in circadian regulating genes, and changes to clock gene expression are recognized forms of disruption and are associated with cancer risk and/or cancer progression. Experimental data in animals and cell cultures further supports the role of the cellular circadian clock in coordinating cell division and DNA repair, and disrupted cellular clocks accelerate cancer cell growth. This review will summarize studies linking circadian disruption to cancer biology and explore how such disruptions may be further altered by common characteristics of tumors including hypoxia and acidosis. We will highlight how circadian rhythms might be exploited for cancer drug development, including how delivery of current chemotherapies may be enhanced using chronotherapy. Understanding the role of circadian rhythms in carcinogenesis and tumor progression will enable us to better understand causes of cancer and how to treat them. View Full-Text
Keywords: circadian rhythms; cancer; clock; circadian disruption; hypoxia; tumor circadian rhythms; cancer; clock; circadian disruption; hypoxia; tumor
Show Figures

Figure 1

MDPI and ACS Style

Morgan, M.N.; Dvuchbabny, S.; Martinez, C.-A.; Kerr, B.; Cistulli, P.A.; Cook, K.M. The Cancer Clock Is (Not) Ticking: Links between Circadian Rhythms and Cancer. Clocks & Sleep 2019, 1, 435-458. https://doi.org/10.3390/clockssleep1040034

AMA Style

Morgan MN, Dvuchbabny S, Martinez C-A, Kerr B, Cistulli PA, Cook KM. The Cancer Clock Is (Not) Ticking: Links between Circadian Rhythms and Cancer. Clocks & Sleep. 2019; 1(4):435-458. https://doi.org/10.3390/clockssleep1040034

Chicago/Turabian Style

Morgan, Monica N., Sapir Dvuchbabny, Chloe-Anne Martinez, Bernadette Kerr, Peter A. Cistulli, and Kristina M. Cook. 2019. "The Cancer Clock Is (Not) Ticking: Links between Circadian Rhythms and Cancer" Clocks & Sleep 1, no. 4: 435-458. https://doi.org/10.3390/clockssleep1040034

Find Other Styles

Article Access Map by Country/Region

1
Back to TopTop