Study finds that cancer drugs might work better during sleep

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last updated 8 January 2015

A study published Friday in the journal Nature Communications found that the way people's bodies function during the day could interfere with some cancer medicines.

The researchers at the Weitzmann Institute discovered that daytime hormone production "inhibited the work of epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptors," a.k.a. the proteins targeted by some anti-cancer drugs, such as lapatinib, which is used to treat breast cancer, Time reports. The tumor cells use the receptors to "attract nutrients that help them survive," while drugs like lapatinib block the receptors. But the study found that when tumor cells that are attached to steroid hormones in addition to the receptors, some cancer drugs are less effective.