Vitamin D status and cancer: new insights.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this article is to describe recent developments in human studies of the role of vitamin D in the etiology and treatment of cancer.


RESULTS
Epidemiologic studies over the past year lend additional support for important roles for vitamin D in the natural history of several cancers. Studies showing risk reduction by vitamin D in prostate, colon and breast cancers were joined by new analyses of endometrial, skin, and pancreatic cancers. Interest in vitamin D has extended to examinations of its influence on premalignant conditions such as adenomatous polyps and breast density. Studies of vitamin D and cancer survival have featured prominently in the recent literature. Sun exposure and indicators of high vitamin D status were found to be associated with improved survival for cutaneous melanoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma, and cancers of the lung, breast, prostate and colon. Therapeutic trials of vitamin D are especially prominent in the treatment of prostate cancer.


CONCLUSIONS
Studies over the past year indicate potentially important roles for vitamin D in cancer prevention, survival and treatment.
Schwartz
Gary G
GG
Departments of Cancer Biology and Epidemiology and Prevention, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157, USA. gschwart@wfubmc.edu
Skinner
Halcyon G
HG
D016588:Anticarcinogenic Agents; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011230:Precancerous Conditions; D011379:Prognosis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000502:physiology*; D014815:Vitamins / Q000502:physiology*
D016588:Anticarcinogenic Agents; D014815:Vitamins; D014807:Vitamin D