Night work and breast cancer: a causal relationship?

In its 2002 monitoring report, the Netherlands Centre for Occupational Diseases (NCvB) called attention to the possible relationship between night work and breast cancer in women. It was prompted to do so by the publication in 2001 of three occupational epidemiology studies revealing an association between night work and the occurrence of breast cancer. This in turn led the State Secretary of Social Affairs and Employment to request that the Health Council of the Netherlands provide a review of current knowledge on this topic, an opinion on its policy relevance and recommendations for further research.