How do you cure cancer? Cancer has been a hot topic for many years in the scientific community and for those who have been impacted by this disease personally or know a loved one who has been impacted by it. Cancer is a disease in which cells grow at an uncontrollable rate and they can cause damage to the body, it can even spread from its point of origin and destroy other parts of the body. It is caused by changes in the gene that can impact the way cells divide and grow. While so much about the disease has been learned and new treatment options are available for those who are diagnosed with this disease, unfortunately, cancer is still one of the leading causes of death in America. This is why many research efforts are being put towards learning more about this disease to create better treatment options for patients and to hopefully one day find a cure.
The circadian rhythm has been a topic of interest regarding cancer. The circadian rhythm is the body’s biological clock, it follows the earth’s 24 hours. It is in every cell of our body, which goes to show just how important it is. However, the disruption of this circadian rhythm has been linked to increased susceptibility to other diseases, like cancer for example. In a world with technology and electricity, it has become more and more easier to disregard our body’s circadian clock and go to sleep and wake up whenever we please and not get the sleep that we need. Dr. Fred Turek and Dr. Summa have investigated the correlation between cancer and the circadian rhythm. While the exact reason for disrupting your circadian rhythm has not been confirmed, there has been growing evidence that when our circadian rhythms are disrupted, they can affect the pathways that are responsible for how our cells grow and divide, which we know if that has been impacted, then cells can grow uncontrollably and become cancer. Knowing this information, researchers are trying to figure out the specifics of how a disrupted circadian rhythm may lead to cancer on a molecular level. If we know how this happens on a molecular level then there can be new drugs or treatments that can be created to target this and be a new cancer treatment for people.
Knowing how a disrupted circadian rhythm may be linked to cancer, what can we do with this new information while we wait to see if new treatments can be developed? Well, according to the article by Lydia Denworth, “Adjusting Your Body Clock May Stave Off Cancer” we can use this information to lower the risk of cancer. This article talks about how disrupting the circadian rhyme can increase your risk of cancer while resetting it can lower the risk. There have been studies that show that night-shift workers are linked to a disrupted circadian rhythm and cancer. But you don’t have to be a night shift worker to have a disrupted circadian rhythm, just not getting a good night’s sleep can cause a disruption as well. This could mean waking up for a few hours between 10 PM and 5 AM once a week. When the circadian rhythm is disrupted, it has an impact on metabolic pathways, immune function, and DNA repair. Knowing the link between the circadian rhythm and diseases, chemotherapy treatments have shown to be more effective when they are given in line with a person’s circadian rhythm, and other drugs are being researched to see if they have the same effect as well. While late-night workers may not be going away, there has been research as to how to reduce the impact of the disruption of the circadian rhythm on these people. For those who don’t work late at night, prioritizing sleep can make a positive impact by reducing the risk of cancer. Even changing eating habits in line with our circadian rhythm has been an area of research as well. But by not disrupting the circadian rhythm, it can reduce our risk of cancer.
While there is still more research to be done about the circadian rhythm and its link to cancer, it provides us with another path to solving the age-old question of how to cure cancer.
References:
“What Is Cancer?” National Cancer Institute, 11 Oct. 2021,
www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/what-is-cancer.
“Cancer Deaths - Health, United States.” Www.cdc.gov, 11 Aug. 2022, www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus/topics/cancer-deaths.htm.
Summa, K.C., and Turek, F. W. Circadian desynchrony and health.
Denworth, Lydia. “Adjusting Your Body Clock May Stave off Cancer.” Scientific American, 1 July 2023, www.scientificamerican.com/article/adjusting-your-body-clock-may-stave-off-cancer/. Accessed 2 Mar. 2024.
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