Breast cancer spreads most often during sleep, unexpected findings from researchers indicates

Research findings have unearthed "potential implications for the timing of biopsy and treatment of metastasis-prone cancers."

That's one conclusion from the authors of a study published some time ago in the journal Nature that decided "the metastatic spread of breast cancer occurs predominantly during sleep."

The findings, according to a story by Megan Brooks online in Medscape Medical News, were "unexpected."

Nicola Aceto, PhD

Brooks quotes Nicola Aceto, PhD and professor of molecular oncology at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology  (ETH) Zurich, Switzerland, as saying, "This has not been shown before [and] we were surprised, indeed."

Harrison Ball, a PhD candidate, and Sunitha Nagrath, PhD, of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, also are quoted, to the effect that "this finding is astounding."

In addition, Brooks' piece quotes Dr. Marlene Myers, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone's Perlmutter Cancer Center in New York City, regarding clinical implications: "The most obvious is that the time of day [that] treatment is administered may influence efficacy."

She adds, however, that the benefits of treatment someone at night would need to be weighed against the downsides of interrupting a person's normal sleep-wake cycle. 

More information on research can be found in "Rollercoaster: How a man can survive a partner's breast cancer," a VitalityPress book that I, Woody Weingarten, aimed at male caregivers.