Sleep and Breathing … and Cancer?
Sleep, like eating and breathing, is an essential part of the daily life cycle. Although the science is still emerging, sleep plays an important role in immune, cardiovascular, and neurocognitive function. Despite its great importance, nearly 40% of U.S. adults experience problems with sleep ranging from insufficient total sleep time, trouble initiating or maintaining sleep (Insomnia), circadian rhythm disorders, sleep-related movement disorders, and sleep-related breathing disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Herein, we discuss new evidence that suggests that sleep may also affect carcinogenesis. Specifically, we review recent epidemiologic data suggesting links between cancer and OSA. As OSA is a common, underdiagnosed, and undertreated condition, this has public health implications. Intriguing animal model data support a link between cancer and sleep/OSA, although mechanisms are not yet clear. Leaders in the fields of sleep medicine, pulmonology, and oncology recently met to review and discuss these data, as well as to outline future directions of study. We propose a multidisciplinary, three-pronged approach to studying the associations between cancer and sleep, utilizing mutually interactive epidemiologic studies, preclinical models, and early-phase clinical trials. Cancer Prev Res; 9(11); 821-7. ©2016 AACR.
Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California. rowens@ucsd.edu.
Robert L
RL
Owens
Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California.
Kathryn A
KA
Gold
Department of Pediatrics, Pritzker School of Medicine, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
David
D
Gozal
Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin.
Paul E
PE
Peppard
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
Jonathan C
JC
Jun
Andrew J
AJ
Dannenberg
Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California.
Scott M
SM
Lippman
Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California.
Atul
A
Malhotra
D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology*; D012890:Sleep; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000150:complications*