Vitamin D and Cancer

Description

Ecological studies, mainly conducted in the USA, have shown an increasing risk of several cancers and other chronic conditions with increasing latitude of residence, suggesting that these diseases might be related to vitamin D status. This “vitamin D hypothesis” was first reinforced by evidence that vitamin D can inhibit cell proliferation and promote apoptosis
in vitro, and secondly, by the discovery that several tissues could locally produce the physiologically active form of vitamin D, 1α,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D, which has anti carcinogenic properties.

IARC has established a Working Group (WG) of international experts to investigate whether or not a causal relationship exists between vitamin D status and cancer risk. The WG has systematically reviewed the epidemiological literature on vitamin D and cancer and has performed a meta
‐analysis on observational studies of serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D levels (the best available biomarker of an individual’s vitamin D status) and the risk of colorectal, breast and prostate cancers and of colorectal adenomas.
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