The anti-tumor activity of pineal melatonin and cancer enhancing life styles in industrialized societies

Cancer Causes and Control

Volumn 17, Issue 4, 2006, Pages 559-571

  Bartsch, Christian ^a   Bartsch, Hella ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF TÜBINGEN   (Germany)

Author keywords

Cancer risk; Experimental cancer; Jet lag; Melatonin; Night shift work

Indexed keywords

ANTINEOPLASTIC AGENT; BIOPTERIN; MELATONIN; MELATONIN RECEPTOR; PINEAL BODY HORMONE; PROLACTIN; SOMATOMEDIN B; SOMATOMEDIN C; THYROTROPIN; TRANSFORMING GROWTH FACTOR BETA;

AIRPLANE CREW; ANTINEOPLASTIC ACTIVITY; BREAST CANCER; CANCER CONTROL; CANCER LOCALIZATION; CANCER PREVENTION; CANCER RISK; CARCINOGENESIS; CIRCADIAN RHYTHM; COMPARATIVE STUDY; DRUG EFFECT; DRUG EFFICACY; EHRLICH ASCITES TUMOR; EXPERIMENTAL MOUSE; EXPERIMENTAL NEOPLASM; EXPERIMENTAL RAT; HORMONE ACTION; HORMONE BLOOD LEVEL; HORMONE RELEASE; HORMONE URINE LEVEL; HUMAN; HYPOTHESIS; IMMUNOMODULATION; IMMUNOSTIMULATION; IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE TREATMENT; IN VIVO STUDY; INDUSTRIAL AREA; INDUSTRIALIZATION; IONIZING RADIATION; LIFESTYLE; LUNG METASTASIS; LYMPH NODE METASTASIS; MEDIASTINUM LYMPH NODE; NIGHT WORK; NONHUMAN; OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE; PHOTOPERIODICITY; PINEAL BODY; PINEALECTOMY; PRIORITY JOURNAL; PROSTATE CANCER; RADIATION PROTECTION; RECEPTOR SENSITIVITY; REVIEW; RISK REDUCTION; TUMOR GROWTH;

ANIMALS; ANTICARCINOGENIC AGENTS; BREAST NEOPLASMS; CELL PROLIFERATION; CHRONOBIOLOGY DISORDERS; CIRCADIAN RHYTHM; HUMANS; LIFE STYLE; MELATONIN; NEOPLASMS; RISK FACTORS;

EID: 33645507220     PISSN: 09575243     EISSN: 15737225     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/s10552-005-9011-8     Document Type: Review

References (100)

1. Ariens Kappers J (1979) Short history of pineal discovery and research. Prog Brain Res 52:3-22
2. Engel P, Bergmann W (1952) Die physiologische Funktion der Zirbeldrüse und ihre therapeutische Anwendung. Zeitschrift Vitamin-, Hormon- u Fermentforschung VI(6):564-594
3. Engel P (1935) Wachstumsbeeinflussende Hormone und Tumorwachstum. Z Krebsforsch 41:488-496
4. Bergmann W, Engel P (1950) Über den Einfluß von Zirbelextrakten auf Tumoren bei weißen Mäusen und bei Menschen. Wien Klin Wschr 62:79-82
5. Hofstätter R (1959) Versuche der postoperativen Krebsbehandlung mit Zirbelstoffen. Krebsarzt 14:307-316
6. Altieri A, Sorrentino F (1956) Eine neue Hormontherapie des Prostatakrebses. Die Epiphysenextrakte. Urologia Internat (Basel) 2:312-350
7. Bibus B (1957) Der heutige Stand der Behandlung des Prostata-Carzinoms. Dtsch med J 11:560-563
8. Rodin AE (1963) The growth and spread of Walker 256 carcinoma in pinealectomized rats. Cancer Res 23:1545-1550
9. Barone RM, Abe R, Das Gupta TK (1972) Pineal ablation in methylcholanthrene induced fibrosarcoma. Surg Forum 23:115-116
10. Relkin (1976) The pineal and human disease. In: Relkin R (ed.) Annual Research Reviews: The Pineal, Lancaster; Eden Press, 76-79
11. Lerner AB, Case JD, Takahashi Y (1958) Isolation of melatonin, the pineal gland factor that lightens melanocytes. J Amer Chem Soc 80:2587
12. Lapin V (1976) Pineal gland and malignancy. Österreich Zeitschr Onkologie 3:51-59
13. Starr KW (1970) Growth and new growth: environmental carcinogens in the process of human ontogeny. Prog Clin Cancer 4:1-29
14. Reiter RJ (1978) Interaction of photoperiod, pineal and seasonal reproduction as exemplified by findings in the hamster. Prog Reprod Biol 4:169-190
15. Bartsch H, Bartsch C (1981) Effect of melatonin on experimental tumors under different photoperiods and times of administration. J Neural Transm 52:269-279
16. Wrba H, Halberg F, Dutter A (1983) Melatonin circadian-stage dependently delays breast tumor development in mice injected daily for several months. Chronobiologia 13:123-128
17. Arendt J (1985) Mammalian pineal rhythms. Pineal Res Rev 3:161-213
18. Blask DE (2001) An overview of the neuroendocrine regulation of experimental tumor growth by melatonin and its analogues and the therapeutic use of melatonin in oncology. In: Bartsch C, Bartsch H, Cardinali DP, Hrushesky WJM, Mecke D (eds) The Pineal Gland and Cancer: Neuroimmunoendocrine Mechanisms in Malignancy. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp 309-342
19. Subramaniam A, Kothari L (1991) Melatonin, a suppressor of spontaneous murine mammary tumors. J Pineal Res 10:136-140
20. Blask DE, Pelletier DB, Hill SM (1991) Pineal melatonin inhibition of tumor promotion in the N-nitroso-N-methylurea model of mammary carcinogenesis: potential involvement of antiestrogenic mechanisms in vivo. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 117:526-532
21. Shah PN, Mhatre MG, Kothari LS (1984) Effect of melatonin on mammary carcinogenesis in intact and pinealectomized rats in varying photoperiods. Cancer Res 44:3403-3407
22. Tamarkin L, Cohen M, Roselle D (1981) Melatonin inhibition and pinealectomy enhancement of 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene-induced mammary tumors in the rat. Cancer Res 41:4432-4436
23. Lee C, Lapin V, Oyasu R (1981) Effect of ovariectomy on serially transplanted rat mammary tumours induced by 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene. Eur J Cancer Clin Oncol 17:801-808
24. Bartsch C, Szadowska A, Karasek M, Bartsch H, Geppert M, Mecke D (2000) Serial transplants of DMBA-induced mammary tumors in Fischer rats as model system for human breast cancer: V. Myoepithelial-mesenchymal conversion during passaging as possible cause for modulation of pineal-tumor interaction. Exp Toxic Pathol 52:93-101
25. Kang Y, Massague J (2004) Epithelial-mesenchymal transitions: twist in development and metastasis. Cell 118:277-279
26. Dandachi N, Hauser-Kronberger C, More E, Wiesener B, Hacker GW, Dietze O, Wirl D (2001) Co-expression of tenascin C and vimentin in human breast cancer cells indicates phenotypic transdifferentiation during tumour progression: correlation with histopathological parameters, hormone receptors, and oncoproteins. J Pathol 193:181-189
27. Petersen OW, Nielsen HL, Gudjonsson T, Villadsen R, Rank F, Niebuhr E, Bissell MJ, Ronnov-Jessen L (2003) Epithelial to mesenchymal transition in human breast cancer can provide a non-malignant stroma. Am J Pathol 162:391-402
28. Bartsch H, Bartsch C, Mecke D, Lippert TH (1994) Differential effect of melatonin on early and advanced passages of a DMBA-induced mammary carcinoma in the female rat. In: Maestroni GJM, Conti A, Reiter RI (eds) Advances in Pineal Research, Vol. 7, John Libbey, London, pp 247-252
29. Bartsch C, Bartsch H, Buchberger A, Stieglitz A, Mecke D, Lippert TH (1994) Serial transplants of DMBA-induced mammary tumors in Fischer rats as model system for human breast cancer: II. Analysis of pineal melatonin biosynthesis and secretion. In: Møller M, Pévet P (eds) Advances in Pineal Research, Vol. 8: John Libbey, London, pp 479-484
30. Bartsch C, Bartsch H, Buchberger A, Stieglitz A, Effenberger-Klein A, Kruse-Jarres JD, Besenthal I, Rokos H, Mecke D (1999) Serial transplants of DMBA-induced mammary tumors in Fischer rats as a model system for human breast cancer. VI. The role of different forms of tumor-associated stress for the regulation of pineal melatonin secretion. Oncology 56:169-176
31. Bartsch H, Bartsch C, Mecke D (2001) The modulation of melatonin in tumor-bearing animals: underlying mechanisms and possible significance for prognosis. In: Bartsch C, Bartsch H, Cardinali DP, Hrushesky WJM, Mecke D (eds) The Pineal Gland and Cancer: Neuroimmunoendocrine Mechanisms in Malignancy. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp 197-209
32. Maestroni GJ, Conti A (1996) Melatonin in human breast cancer tissue: association with nuclear grade and estrogen receptor status. Lab Invest 75:557-561
33. Bartsch H, Bartsch C, Mecke D, Lippert TH (1994) Serial transplants of DMBA-induced mammary tumors in Fischer rats as model system for human breast cancer: I. Effect of melatonin and pineal extracts on slow- and fast-growing passages - in vivo and in vitro studies. In: Møller M, Pévet P (eds) Advances in Pineal Research, Vol. 8, John Libbey, London, pp 473-478
34. Bartsch C, Bartsch H, Flüchter STH, Mecke D, Lippert TH (1994) Diminished pineal function coincides with disturbed circadian endocrine rhythmicity in untreated primary cancer patients: consequence of premature aging or of tumor growth? Ann NY Acad Sci 719:502-525
35. Danforth DN, Tamarkin L, Lippman M (1984) Melatonin induction of oestrogen receptor hormone binding activity is associated with inhibition of E2-stimulated growth of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. Int Cong Endocrinol 494-507
36. Hill SM, Blask DE (1988) Effects of the pineal hormone melatonin on the proliferation and morphological characteristics of human breast cancer cells (MCF-7) in culture. Cancer Res 48:6121-6125
37. Blask DE (1993) Melatonin in oncology. In: Yu H-S, Reiter RJ (eds) Melatonin: Biosynthesis, Physiological Effects and Clinical Applications. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 447-475
38. Shellard SA, Whelan RDH, Hill BT (1989) Growth inhibitory and cytotoxic effects of melatonin and its metabolites on human tumour cell lines in vitro. Br J Cancer 60:288-290
39. Molis T, Walters MR, Hill SM (1993) Melatonin modulation of estrogen receptor expression in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. Int J Oncol 3:687-694
40. Lupowitz Z, Zisapel N (1999) Hormonal interactions in human prostate tumor LNCaP cells. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 68:83-88
41. Moretti RN, Marelli MM, Maggi R (2000) Antiproliferative action of melatonin on human prostate cancer LNCaP cells. Oncol Rep 7:47-51
42. Meyskens FL, Salmon SF (1981) Modulation of clonogenic melanoma cells by follicle-stimulating hormone, melatonin and nerve growth factor. Br J Cancer 43:111-115
43. Karasek M, Kunert-Radek J, Stepien H (1988) Melatonin inhibits the proliferation of estrogen-induced rat pituitary tumor cells in vitro. Neuroendorinol Lett 10:135-140
44. Bartsch H, Bartsch C, Simon WE, Flehmig B, Ebels I, Lippert TH (1992) Antitumor activity of the pineal gland: effect of unidentified substances versus the effect of melatonin. Oncology 49:27-30
45. L'Hermite-Balerieux M, de Launoit Y (1992) Is melatonin really an in vitro inhibitor of human breast cancer cell proliferation? In Vitro Cell Dev Biol 28A:583-584
46. Cos S, Sanchez-Barcelo EJ (2001) In vitro effects of melatonin on tumor cells. In: Bartsch C, Bartsch H, Blask DE, Cardinali DP, Hrushesky WJM, Mecke D, eds. The Pineal Gland and Cancer: Neuroimmunoendocrine Mechanisms in Malignancy. Springer, Berlin, pp 221-239
47. Ram PT, Yuan L, Dai J (2000) Differential responsiveness of MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line stocks to the pineal hormone melatonin. J Pineal Res 28:210-218
48. Bartsch H, Buchberger A, Franz F, Bartsch C, Maidonis I, Mecke D, Bayer E (2000) Effect of melatonin and pineal extracts on human ovarian and mammary tumor cells in a chemosensitivity assay. Life Sci 67:2953-2960
49. Kanishi Y, Kobayashi Y, Noda S (2000) Differential growth inhibitory effect of melatonin on two endometrial cancer cell lines. J Pineal Res 28:227-233
50. Xi SC, Siu SW, Fong SW (2001) Inhibition of androgen-sensitive LNCaP prostate cancer growth in vivo by melatonin: association of antiproliferative action of the pineal hormone with mtl receptor protein expression. Prostate 46:52-61
51. Dillon DC, Easley SE, Asch BB (2002) Differential expression of high-affinity melatonin receptors (MT1) in normal and malignant human breast tissue. Am J Clin Pathol 118:451-458
52. Ram PT, Dai J, Yuan L. Dong C, Kiefer TL, Lai L, Hill SM (2002) Involvement of the mt1 melatonin receptor in human breast cancer. Cancer Lett 179:141-150
53. Dai J, Ram PT, Yuan L, Spriggs LL, Hill SM (2001) Transcriptional repression of RORα activity in human breast cancer cells by melatonin. Mol Cell Endocrinol 176:111-120
54. Girgert R, Bartsch C, Hill SM, Kreienberg R, Hanf V (2003) Tracking the elusive antiestrogenic effect of melatonin: a new methodological approach. Neuroendocrinol Lett 24:440-444
55. Bartsch H, Bartsch C, Flehmig B (1986) Differential effect of melatonin on slow and fast growing passages of a human melanoma cell line. Neuroendocrinol Lett 8:289-293
56. Pink JJ, Jordan VC (1996) Models of estrogen receptor regulation by estrogens and antiestrogens in breast cancer cell lines. Cancer Res 56:2321-2330
57. Hill SM, Kiefer T, Teplitzky S, Spriggs LL, Ram P (2001) Modulation of the estrogen response pathway in human breast cancer cells by melatonin. In: Bartsch C, Bartsch H, Blask DE, Cardinali DP, Hrashesky WJM, Mecke D (eds) The Pineal Gland and Cancer: Neuroimmunoendocrine Mechanisms in Malignancy. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp 343-358
58. Bartsch C, Bartsch H, Lippert TH, Gupta D (1990) Effect of the mammary carcinogen 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene on pineal melatonin biosynthesis, secretion, and peripheral metabolism. Neuroendocrinology 52:538-544
59. De Jonage-Canonico MB, Lenoir V, Martin A, Scholler R, Kerdelhue B (2003) Long-term inhibition by estradiol or progesterone of melatonin secretion after administration of a mammary carcinogen, the dimethylbenz(a)anthracene, in Sprague-Dawley female rat; inhibitory effect of melatonin on mammary carcinogenesis. Breast Cancer Res Treat 79:365-377
60. Kopin IJ, Pare CMB, Axelrod J (1961) The fate of melatonin in animals. J Biol Chem 236:3072-3075
61. Jones RL, McGeer PL, Greiner AC (1969) Metabolism of exogenous melatoninin in schizophrenic and nonschizophrenic volunteers. Clin Clim Acta 26:281-285
62. Praast G, Bartsch C, Bartsch H, Mecke D, Lippert TH (1995) Hepatic hydroxylation of melatonin in the rat is induced by phenobarbital and 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene - implications for cancer etiology. Experientia 51:349-355
63. Skene DJ, Papagiannidou E, Hashemi E, Snelling J, Lewis DFV, Fernandez M, Ioannides C (2001) Contribution of CYP1A2 in the hepatic metabolism of melatonin: studies with isolated microsomal preparations and liver slices. J Pineal Res 31:333-342
64. Facciola G, Hidestrand M, von Bahr C, Tybring G (2001) Cytochrome P-450 isoforms involved in melatonin metabolism in human liver microsomes .Eur J Clin Pharmacol 56:881-888
65. Ma X, Idle JR, Krausz KW, Gonzalez FJ (2005) Metabolism of melatonin by human cytochromes P450. Drug Metab Dispos 33:489-494
66. Kothari L, Subramaniam A (1992) A possible modulatory influence of melatonin on representative phase I and II drug metabolizing enzymes in 9,10-dimethylbenzanthracene induced rat mammary tumorigenesis. Anti-Cancer Drugs 3:623-628
67. Subramaniam A, Kothari L (1991) Suppressive effect by melatonin on different phases of 9,10-dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene (DMBA)-induced rat mammary gland carcinogenesis. Anticancer Drugs 2:297-303
68. Vijayalaxmi, Reiter RJ, Tan D-X, Herman TS, Thomas CR (2004) Melatonin as a radioprotective agent: a review. Int J Radiation Oncology Biol Phys 59:639-653
69. Reiter RJ (2001) Reactive oxygen species, DNA damage, and carcinogenesis: Intervention with melatonin. In: Bartsch C, Bartsch H, Blask DE, Cardinali DP, Hrushesky WJM, Mecke D (eds) The Pineal Gland and Cancer: Neuroimmunoendocrine Mechanisms in Malignancy. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp 442-455
70. Brainard GC, Lewy AJ, Menaker M, Fredrickson RH, Miller LS, Weleber RG, Cassone V, Hudson D (1988) Dose-response relationship between light irradiance and the suppression of plasma melatonin in human volunteers. Brain Res 454:212-218
71. Davis S, Mirick DK, Stevens RG (2001) Night shift work, light at night, and risk of breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst 93:1557-1562
72. Schernhammer ES, Laden F, Speizer RF, Willett WC, Hunter DJ, Kawachi I, Colditz GA (2001) Rotating night shifts and risk of breast cancer in women participating in the nurses' health study. J Natl Cancer Inst 93:1563-1568
73. Schernhammer ES, Laden F, Speizer FE, Willett WC, Hunter DJ, Kawachi I, Fuchs CS, Colditz GA (2003) Night-shift work and risk of colorectal cancer in the nurses' health study. J Natl Cancer Inst 95:825-888
74. Stevens RG (2002) Lighting during the day and night: Possible impact on risk of breast cancer. Neuroendocrinol Lett 23(Suppl 2):57-60
75. Schernhammer ES, Schulmeister K (2004) Melatonin and cancer risk: does light at night compromise physiologic cancer protection by lowering serum melatonin levels? Br J Cancer 90:941-943
76. Schernhammer ES, Rosner B, Willett WC, Laden F, Colditz GA, Hankinson SE (2004) Epidemiology of urinary melatonin in women and its relation to other hormones and night work. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 13:936-943
77. Feychting M, Osterlund B, Ahlbom A (1998) Reduced cancer incidence among the blind. Epidemiology 9:490-494
78. Verkasalo PK, Pukkala E, Stevens RG, Ojamo M, Rudanko SL (1999) Inverse association between breast cancer incidence and degree of visual impairment in Finland. Br J Cancer 80:1459-1460
79. Provincio I, Rodriguez IR, Jian G, Hayes WP, Moreira EF, Rollag MD (2000) A novel human opsin in the inner retina. J Neurose 20:600-605
80. Sigurdson AJ, Ron E (2004) Cosmic radiation exposure and cancer risk among flight crew. Cancer Invest 22:743-761
81. Lim MK (2002) Cosmic rays: are air crew at risk? Occup Environ Med 59:428-432
82. Filipski E, Delaunay F, King VM, Wu MW, Claustrat B, Grechez-Cassiau A, Guettier C, Hastings MH, Levi F (2004) Effects of chronic jet lag on tumor progression in mice. Cancer Res 64:7879-7885
83. Li XM, Liu XH, Filipski E, Metzger G, Delagrange P, Jeanniot JP, Levi F (2000) Relationship of atypical melatonin rhythm with two circadian clock outputs in B6D2F(1) mice. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 278:R924-R930
84. Mokbel K (2003) Risk-reducing strategies for breast cancer - a review of recent literature. Int J Fertil Womens Med 48:274-277
85. Kerenyi NA, Pandula E, Feuer G (1990) Why the incidence of cancer is increasing: the role of "light pollution". Med Hypotheses 33:75-78
86. Vollrath L (2001) Biology of the pineal gland and melatonin in humans. In: Bartsch C, Bartsch H, Blask DE, Cardinali DP, Hrushesky WJM, Mecke D (eds) The Pineal Gland and Cancer: Neuroimmunoendocrine Mechanisms in Malignancy. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp 5-49
87. Cardinali DP, Cutrera RA, Brusco LL (2001) The role of melatonin in the neuroendocrine system: multiplicity of sites and mechanism of action. In: Bartsch C, Bartsch H, Blask DE, Cardinali DP, Hrushesky WJM, Mecke D (eds) The Pineal Gland and Cancer: Neuroimmunoendocrine Mechanisms in Malignancy. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp 50-65
88. Maestroni GJM (2001) Melatonin and the immune system: therapeutic potential in cancer, viral diseases, and immunodeficiency states. In: Bartsch C, Bartsch H, Blask DE, Cardinali DP, Hrushesky WJM, Mecke D (eds) The Pineal Gland and Cancer: Neuroimmunoendocrine Mechanisms in Malignancy. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp 384-394
89. Greenberg MR (1983) Urbanization and cancer: changing mortality patterns. Int Reg Sci Rev 8:127-145
90. Lockley SW, Brainard GC, Czeisler A (2003) High sensitivity of the human circadian melatonin rhythm to resetting by short wavelength light. J Endocrinol Metab 88:4502-4505
91. Herxheimer A, Petrie KJ (2002) Melatonin for the prevention and treatment of jet lag. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2002(2):CD0011520
92. Sharkey KM, Eastman CL (2002) Melatonin phase shifts human circadian rhythms in a placebo-controlled simulated night-work study. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 282:454-463
93. Burgess HJ, Sharkey KM, Eastman CI (2002) Bright light, dark and melatonin can promote circadian adaptation in night shift worker. Sleep Med Rev 6:407-420
94. Conti A, Haran-Ghera N, Maestroni GJM (1992) Role of pineal melatonin and melatonin-induced opioids in murine leukemogenesis. Med Oncol Tumor Pharmacother 9:87-92
95. Stevens RG, Davis S, Mirick DK, Keifets L, Kaune W (2000) Alcohol consumption and urinary concentration of 6-sulphatoxymelatonin in healthy women. Epidemiology 11:660-665
96. Atkinson G, Drust B, Reilly T, Waterhouse J (2003) The relevance of melatonin in sports medicine and science. Sports Med 33:809-831
97. Roth GS, Lesnikov V, Lesnikov M, Ingram DK, Lane MA (2001) Dietary caloric restriction prevents the age-related decline in plasma melatonin levels of rhesus monkey. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 86:3292-3295
98. Prunet-Marcassus B, Desbazeille M, Bros A, Louche K, Delagrange P, Renard L, Casteilla L, Penicaud L (2003) Melatonin reduces body weight gain in Sprague Dawley rats with diet-induced obesity. Endocrinology 144:5347-5352
99. Sauer LA, Dauchy RT, Blask DE (2001) Polyunsaturated fatty acids, melatonin, and cancer prevention Biochem Pharmacol 61:1455-1462
100. Sauer LA, Dauchy RT, Blask DE (2001) Melatonin inhibits fatty acid transport in inguinal fat pads of hepatoma 7288CTC-bearing and normal Buffalo rats via receptor-mediated signal transduction. Life Sci 68:2835-2844