title: Vitamin D, calcium and prevention of breast cancer: a review.
abstract: Several recent epidemiologic and experimental studies have suggested that decreased calcium and vitamin D intake and high dietary fat are associated with mammary gland carcinogenesis. Complete reduction or elimination of human exposure to environmental factors such as high-fat diets is inherently difficult to implement. Recent studies have begun to evaluate a possible role for increased dietary calcium and vitamin D in reducing the risk of colonic and mammary cancers, even in the presence of a high-fat diet. Studies from our laboratory recently found that decreased dietary calcium and vitamin D in a high-fat diet induced adverse changes in the mammary gland and several other organs, which were reversed by increasing dietary calcium and vitamin D; the findings further suggest a possible role for increased dietary calcium and vitamin D in the chemoprevention of these cancers.
authors.affiliation: Weill Medical College of Cornell University, Strang Cancer Research Laboratory at The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10021-6007, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lipkin
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Newmark
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002136:Calcium, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D013472:Sunlight; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D002136:Calcium, Dietary; D014807:Vitamin D