Cookies on this website
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Continue' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

No link between night shifts and breast cancer, study concludes

Research

Despite an assessment in 2007 that night shift work was probably carcinogenic, data from three new studies and a review of currently available evidence indicate that night shift work has little or no effect on breast cancer incidence.

Night shift worker © Photographee.eu - Shutterstock

The work was led by Oxford University and is published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

In its 2007 review, the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer categorised shift work that involves disruption of the circadian rhythm, people's internal 'body clock', as a probable carcinogen. This was based on evidence about breast cancer in animal studies. At the time, there was only limited evidence about breast cancer risk in humans.

Read more

Similar stories

Regular meat consumption linked with a wide range of common diseases

Research

Regular meat consumption is associated with a range of diseases that researchers had not previously considered, according to a large, population-level study conducted by a team at the University of Oxford.

New data show vaccines reduce severe COVID-19 in older adults

Coronavirus COVID-19 Research

New data show both Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine and the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines significantly reduce severe COVID-19 in older adults.

Singula Bio, a new Oxford spin-out company - Cancer need not be fatal

General Innovation Research

Singula Bio, a bold new seed-stage biotechnology company spun out of Oxford University, has been launched with the intention of helping show that cancer need not be fatal. Led by three Oxford cancer specialists, the firm is aims to become a world leader in therapies to use against difficult-to-treat solid malignancies such as ovarian cancer - using the body’s own immune system to fight previously fatal cancers.

Major rise in public support for COVID vaccine – Oxford study

Coronavirus COVID-19 General Research

More than three quarters of people in the UK now say they are ’very likely’ to have the vaccine – up from 50% among the same group of survey respondents five months ago –according to a two-wave Oxford University survey published today.

Three ways virtual reality could transform mental health treatment

General Research

Coronavirus vaccination linked to substantial reduction in hospitalisation, real-world data suggests

Coronavirus COVID-19 General Research

The first study to describe the effects in real-world communities of the Oxford coronavirus vaccine has been reported in a pre-print publication today, showing a clear reduction in the risk of hospitalisation from COVID-19 amongst those who have received the vaccine.