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Review
. 2023 Sep 7:13:1269378.
doi: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1269378. eCollection 2023.

Circadian, hormonal, and sleep rhythms: effects on cancer progression implications for treatment

Annemarie D Jagielo  1   2 , Catherine Benedict  2 , David Spiegel  2
Affiliations
Review

Circadian, hormonal, and sleep rhythms: effects on cancer progression implications for treatment

Annemarie D Jagielo et al. Front Oncol. .

Abstract

Circadian, hormonal, and sleep rhythm disruptions are commonly experienced concerns among cancer patients throughout the cancer care continuum. This review aims to summarize the existing literature on circadian, hormonal, and sleep rhythms in the oncological population, focusing on circadian disruption and physiological and psychological abnormalities, disease progression, and chronomodulated treatment approaches. The findings demonstrate that subjectively and objectively measured circadian rhythm disruption is associated with adverse mental health and disease outcomes in patients with cancer. Chronomodulated chemotherapy, light therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, and physical activity have shown evidence of effectiveness in improving sleep, and occasionally, disease outcomes.

Keywords: cancer; chronotherapeutics; circadian rhythms; cortisol; sleep disturbance.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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