A good vitamin D status can protect against cancer

Date:
June 10, 2020
Source:
University of Eastern Finland
Summary:
A good vitamin D status is beneficial both in cancer prevention and
in the prognosis of several cancers, according to a new research
review. The anti-cancer effects of vitamin D are especially
pronounced in the prevention and treatment of colon cancer and
blood cancers. In addition, high vitamin D responsiveness can be
linked to a smaller cancer risk.

Vitamin D responsiveness varies between individuals, affecting
their need for vitamin D supplementation.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A good vitamin D status is beneficial both in cancer prevention
and in the prognosis of several cancers, according to a new research
review. The anti- cancer effects of vitamin D are especially pronounced
in the prevention and treatment of colon cancer and blood cancers. In
addition, high vitamin D responsiveness can be linked to a smaller
cancer risk. Vitamin D responsiveness varies between individuals,
affecting their need for vitamin D supplementation.


==========================================================================
The review article, published in Seminars in Cancer Biology and written
by Professor Carsten Carlberg from the University of Eastern Finland
and Professor Alberto Mun~oz from the Autonomous University of Madrid,
provides an update on the molecular basis of vitamin D signaling and
its role in cancer prevention and therapy.

Vitamin D is commonly known for its crucial role in bone health,
but the authors point out it also regulates the immune system, and
its anti-cancer effects are mediated mainly by immune cells, such as
monocytes and T cells.

Vitamin D exerts its effects via the vitamin D receptor (VDR), which
is a transcription factor involved in the expression and epigenetic
regulation of numerous genes.

According to the review, studies focusing on the effect of vitamin D
on different types of cancers provide the strongest evidence of its
benefits in colorectal cancer and in blood cancers, such as leukemias
and lymphomas.

Vitamin D is important both for the differentiation of blood cells
during hematopoiesis as well as adult stem cells in rapidly regenerating tissues, such as colon or skin. A too low vitamin D status leads to
a suboptimal function of the VDR and in an increased risk that these
cells are not fully differentiating and start to turn into uncontrolled
growing cancer cells.

Even in other types of cancer, such as breast and prostate cancer,
a low vitamin D status, measured as the level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D
in the blood, has been associated with a higher cancer incidence and a
poorer prognosis.

However, vitamin D supplementation has not been consistently shown to
reduce cancer mortality in randomized controlled trials. According to
the authors of the review, the impact of vitamin D could be shown more
clearly if the participants were stratified according to their individual vitamin D responsiveness and the health outcomes analyzed in relation
to changes in individual vitamin D status.

Professor Carlberg's research group has earlier shown that individuals
differ in their molecular response or sensitivity to vitamin D
supplementation. For example, 25% of the Finnish population seem to be
low responders, needing a higher dose of vitamin D supplementation to
reach the full clinical benefit. In terms of cancer risk, being a high responder can be expected to have a protective effect.

According to the review, a good vitamin D status is beneficial in
general cancer prevention. There is less evidence of its usefulness in
the treatment of cancer.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Eastern_Finland. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Carsten Carlberg, Alberto Mun~oz. An update on vitamin D signaling
and
cancer. Seminars in Cancer Biology, 2020; DOI: 10.1016/
j.semcancer.2020.05.018 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200610102728.htm

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