Sunshine may ward off lymphoma
Key points
- Sun exposure apparently has a protective effect against the development non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), a blood cancer, Australian researchers report.
- Anne Kricker, of the University of Sydney, and colleagues investigated the possibility that high sun exposure is associated with an increased risk of NHL - and found the opposite - according the results of a study published in the International Journal of Cancer.
- The team's population-based study involved adults between the ages of 20 and 74 years.
- The researchers used a questionnaire and a telephone interview to estimate details of typical sun exposure over as long as 6 decades.
Sun exposure apparently has a protective effect against the development non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), a blood cancer, Australian researchers report.
Dr. Anne Kricker, of the University of Sydney, and colleagues investigated the possibility that high sun exposure is associated with an increased risk of NHL - and found the opposite - according the results of a study published in the International Journal of Cancer.
The team's population-based study involved adults between the ages of 20 and 74 years. In total, 704 cases of NHL and 694 randomly selected matched controls were enrolled.
The researchers used a questionnaire and a telephone interview to estimate details of typical sun exposure over as long as 6 decades. These took into account factors such as working, non-working and vacation days.
The risk of NHL decreased with increasing hours of sun exposure. With the highest exposes, the odds of having NHL decreased by 35 percent compared with the lowest exposure level.
One effect of sunlight is to stimulate the body's production of vitamin D. The researchers say that "increasing evidence that vitamin D may protect against cancer makes ultraviolet-mediated synthesis of vitamin D a plausible mechanism whereby sun exposure might protect against NHL."
SOURCE: International Journal of Cancer, December 10, 2004.
Written and revised by
David Cohen, M.D.
Our doctors write and review articles for accuracy and keep them up to date.
health.am provides general information, not medical advice. Always consult a qualified health professional about your own health.
Explore health topics
More in this topic
Cancer →
NewsBreast CT imaging system marches forward as pain-free tool to aid mammograms
While questions persist about the best ways to detect breast cancer early, a CT imaging system developed at the University of Rochester Medical Center and first unveiled five years ago is in a better position today to…
6 December 2010
NewsNovel Study Using Reoviruses Against Ovarian Cancer Pushes Forward
Researchers are now investigating whether the human reovirus, when prescribed along with chemotherapy, will provide a desperately needed “one-two punch” against ovarian cancer. The news comes during the month of…
14 September 2010
NewsEinstein Receives High-Risk/High-Reward Cancer Research Funding
Matthew Levy, Ph.D., assistant professor of biochemistry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, has been awarded more than $700,000 by Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) for his high-risk/high-reward…
