There may be a link between sleep disorder and cancer, researchers have reported.
Scientists have feared for a while that oxygen deprivation caused by sleep disordered breathing may trigger cancer.
Now the idea has been supported by the first study of human patients.
Researchers found a five times increased risk of dying from cancer among patients with severe sleep disorder.
People with mild disordered faced a ten per cent increased risk.
The findings were reported to a conference of the American Thoracic Society in San Francisco, California, USA, yesterday
They come from a study of more than 1,500 people who took part in sleep studies in Wisconsin, USA, over a 22 year period.
The Wisconsin researchers worked with Professor Ramone Farré, of the University of Barcelona, Spain, on the project.
Fellow researcher Professor Javier Nieto, of the University of Wisconsin, USA, said: "If the relationship between sleep disordered breathing and cancer mortality is validated in further studies, the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disordered breathing in patients with cancer might be indicated to prolong survival."
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