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. 2001 Feb;84(3):397–399. doi: 10.1054/bjoc.2000.1617

Risk of breast cancer among Norwegian women with visual impairment

J Kliukiene 1, T Tynes 1,2, A Andersen 1
PMCID: PMC2363754  PMID: 11161406

Abstract

Experimental studies suggest that melatonin has a protective effect against breast cancer. Exposure to light suppresses melatonin secretion, but to a lesser degree in totally blind persons. Breast cancer was investigated in a cohort of 15 412 Norwegian visually impaired women. The risk among totally blind women was 0.64 (95% CI = 0.21–1.49, 5 cases only), and for those who became blind before age of 65, the SIR was 0.51 (95% CI = 0.11–1.49). Our findings give support to the ‘melatonin hypothesis’. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.com

Keywords: blindness, visual impairment, breast cancer, melatonin

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Selected References

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