Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29360812›Full record

ArticleBritish journal of cancer2018

Domestic light at night and breast cancer risk: a prospective analysis of 105 000 UK women in the Generations Study.

Louise E Johns, Michael E Jones, Minouk J Schoemaker, Emily McFadden, Alan Ashworth, Anthony J Swerdlow

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in British journal of cancer, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
29citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

29 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Review
  5. PI3 K/AKT/mTOR pathway and its role in breast cancer stem cells.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2025
    Review
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Breast cancer: Epidemiology, risk factors and screening.Chinese journal of cancer research = Chung-kuo yen cheng yen chiu · 2023
    Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Review
  16. Shift Work and Breast Cancer.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020
    Review
  17. Light Pollution and Cancer.International journal of molecular sciences · 2020
    Review
  18. Circadian disruption: What do we actually mean?The European journal of neuroscience · 2020
    Review
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Louise E JohnsDivision of Genetics and Epidemiology, The Institute of Cancer Research, London SM2 5NG, UK.
Michael E JonesDivision of Genetics and Epidemiology, The Institute of Cancer Research, London SM2 5NG, UK.
Minouk J SchoemakerDivision of Genetics and Epidemiology, The Institute of Cancer Research, London SM2 5NG, UK.
Emily McFaddenDivision of Genetics and Epidemiology, The Institute of Cancer Research, London SM2 5NG, UK.
Alan AshworthDivision of Breast Cancer Research, The Institute of Cancer Research, London SW3 6JB, UK.
Anthony J SwerdlowDivision of Genetics and Epidemiology, The Institute of Cancer Research, London SM2 5NG, UK.

Funding

Translational InformaticsP30CA082103 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI Kate Taylor Shumate · 1999 to 2026
$209.7M
NCI NIH HHS P30 CA082103
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCircadian disruption caused by exposure to light at night (LAN) has been proposed as a risk factor for breast cancer and a reason for secular increases in incidence. Studies to date have largely been ecological or case-control in design and findings have been mixed.

methodsWe investigated the relationship between LAN and breast cancer risk in the UK Generations Study. Bedroom light levels and sleeping patterns at age 20 and at study recruitment were obtained by questionnaire. Analyses were conducted on 105 866 participants with no prior history of breast cancer. During an average of 6.1 years of follow-up, 1775 cases of breast cancer were diagnosed. Cox proportional hazard models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs), adjusting for potential confounding factors.

resultsThere was no association between LAN level and breast cancer risk overall (highest compared with lowest LAN level at recruitment: HR=1.01, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.88-1.15), or for invasive (HR=0.98, 95% CI: 0.85-1.13) or in situ (HR=0.96, 95% CI: 0.83-1.11) breast cancer, or oestrogen-receptor (ER) positive (HR=0.98, 95% CI: 0.84-1.14); or negative (HR=1.16, 95% CI: 0.82-1.65) tumours separately. The findings did not differ by menopausal status. Adjusting for sleep duration, sleeping at unusual times (non-peak sleep) and history of night work did not affect the results. Night waking with exposure to light, occurring around age 20, was associated with a reduced risk of premenopausal breast cancer (HR for breast cancer overall=0.74, 95% CI: 0.55-0.99; HR for ER-positive breast cancer=0.69, 95% CI: 0.49-0.97).

conclusionsIn this prospective cohort analysis of LAN, there was no evidence that LAN exposure increased the risk of subsequent breast cancer, although the suggestion of a lower breast cancer risk in pre-menopausal women with a history of night waking in their twenties may warrant further investigation.

Indexed as

AdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overBreast NeoplasmsCircadian ClocksFemaleHumansLightingMiddle AgedProportional Hazards ModelsProspective StudiesSleepSurveys and QuestionnairesUnited KingdomYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID29360812
PMCPMC5830585

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.