Implications of circadian rhythm disruption on breast cancer pathology

Circadian rhythms are endogenous patterns which control an organism’s behavioural and molecular processes in accordance with environmental stimuli. Circadian disruption (CD) has been associated with the onset of various diseases such as cancer due to physiological dysregulation. CD is a prominent issue among shift workers and is suspected to be related to the rising rates of breast cancer. Through conducting a literature search of PubMed and Google Scholar databases relevant recent research articles were reviewed. Existing literature has shown a gene-environment interaction related to breast cancer development. These results indicate that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and epigenetic mutations in circadian genes in combination with CD behaviour results in breast cancer development. This information is widely supported and can be utilized to further investigate the relationship between CD and breast cancer etiology, and possible treatment and prevention methods.