title: Vitamin D in the cancer patient.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To briefly review recent work within the vitamin D and cancer field, whereas also providing context relating how these findings may impact clinical care and future research efforts.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Vitamin D has now been convincingly shown both in vitro and in preclinical animal models to alter the differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis of cancer cells. Whether vitamin D prevents cancer in humans or limits cancer progression, however, remain open questions. Epidemiologic and observational data relating circulating 25(OH)D levels and cancer risk suggest an inverse relationship for most cancers including breast, colorectal, leukemia and lymphoma, and prostate, although for each malignancy there also exist studies that have failed to demonstrate such an inverse relationship. Likewise, a more recent report failed to confirm a previously reported association of increased pancreatic cancer risk in patients with higher 25(OH)D levels. A large prospective study in which patients aged at least 50 years receive 2000 IU vitamin D3 daily for 5 years, with cancer as a primary endpoint, has recently been launched.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although much effort has attempted to delineate a causal relationship between vitamin D and a wide array of human cancers, we await large-scale randomized controlled trial data for definitive answers.
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, Endocrine Research Unit, College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota 55905, USA.
authors.forename: Kurt A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Kennel
authors.forename: Matthew T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Drake
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000517:prevention & control; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D019337:Hematologic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000517:prevention & control; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000517:prevention & control; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000517:prevention & control; D018167:Receptors, Calcitriol / Q000378:metabolism; D012307:Risk Factors; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000517:prevention & control; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D018167:Receptors, Calcitriol; D014807:Vitamin D; C097949:1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D
references.citation: Cancer Causes Control. 2012 Aug;23(8):1377-85
references.pmid: 22706676
references.citation: PLoS One. 2012;7(4):e35211
references.pmid: 22493740
references.citation: J Natl Cancer Inst. 2012 May 2;104(9):690-9
references.pmid: 22499501
references.citation: J Clin Oncol. 2010 Sep 20;28(27):4191-8
references.pmid: 20713849
references.citation: Am J Epidemiol. 2012 Jul 1;176(1):1-13
references.pmid: 22573431
references.citation: Br J Cancer. 1998 Jul;78(1):6-13
references.pmid: 9662243
references.citation: Br J Cancer. 2012 Jun 26;107(1):158-60
references.pmid: 22588559
references.citation: Int J Cancer. 2012 Sep 1;131(5):1187-96
references.pmid: 22033893
references.citation: Cancer. 2010 May 1;116(9):2132-9
references.pmid: 20166215
references.citation: Am J Hematol. 2009 Jul;84(7):397-400
references.pmid: 19415724
references.citation: Cancer Causes Control. 2012 Jul;23(7):1017-29
references.pmid: 22544453
references.citation: Cancer Res. 2009 Feb 15;69(4):1439-47
references.pmid: 19208842
references.citation: Invest New Drugs. 2011 Dec;29(6):1420-5
references.pmid: 20661623
references.citation: J Chem Neuroanat. 2005 Jan;29(1):21-30
references.pmid: 15589699
references.citation: Br J Haematol. 2008 Jul;142(3):492-4
references.pmid: 18485049
references.citation: J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2013 Apr;98(4):1498-507
references.pmid: 23463655
references.citation: Maturitas. 2010 Jul;66(3):291-7
references.pmid: 20399042
references.citation: Am J Epidemiol. 2010 Sep 1;172(5):566-77
references.pmid: 20693267
references.citation: World J Gastroenterol. 2012 Apr 14;18(14):1672-9
references.pmid: 22529698
references.citation: Clin Nutr. 2013 Dec;32(6):888-93
references.pmid: 23647723
references.citation: Ann Oncol. 2011 Dec;22(12):2546-2555
references.pmid: 21415233
references.citation: Blood. 2011 Feb 3;117(5):1492-8
references.pmid: 21048153
references.citation: Clin Cancer Res. 2005 Dec 15;11(24 Pt 1):8680-5
references.pmid: 16361554
references.citation: J Autoimmun. 2012 Sep;39(3):234-9
references.pmid: 22835660
references.citation: Adv Prev Med. 2011;2011:281863
references.pmid: 21991434
references.citation: Breast Cancer Res. 2013 Feb 26;15(1):R15
references.pmid: 23442740
references.citation: Cancer Causes Control. 2013 Apr;24(4):759-67
references.pmid: 23361338
references.citation: J Clin Oncol. 2011 Jun 1;29(16):2191-8
references.pmid: 21483004
references.citation: J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2012 Jul;97(7):2315-24
references.pmid: 22508710
references.citation: Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2012 Jun;133(3):1159-67
references.pmid: 22434523
references.citation: Br J Psychiatry. 2013 Feb;202:100-7
references.pmid: 23377209
references.citation: Diabet Med. 2012 Jan;29(1):50-5
references.pmid: 21726279
references.citation: Cancer Res. 2006 Oct 15;66(20):10213-9
references.pmid: 17047087
references.citation: Cancer Res. 2010 Feb 15;70(4):1496-504
references.pmid: 20145122
references.citation: J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2012 Feb;97(2):614-22
references.pmid: 22112804
references.citation: Br J Psychiatry. 2011 May;198(5):357-64
references.pmid: 21525520
references.citation: BMJ. 2010 Jan 21;340:b5500
references.pmid: 20093284
references.citation: Lancet Oncol. 2012 Mar;13(3):275-84
references.pmid: 22318095
references.citation: Contemp Clin Trials. 2012 Jan;33(1):159-71
references.pmid: 21986389
references.citation: J Intern Med. 2008 Dec;264(6):599-609
references.pmid: 18793245
references.citation: Cancer Prev Res (Phila). 2011 May;4(5):735-43
references.pmid: 21430073
references.citation: Osteoporos Int. 2013 Feb;24(2):567-80
references.pmid: 23208074
references.citation: Anticancer Res. 2009 Sep;29(9):3669-74
references.pmid: 19667163
references.citation: Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 Jan;93(1):108-17
references.pmid: 20980485
references.citation: Lancet Oncol. 2011 Feb;12(2):160-74
references.pmid: 21251875
references.citation: Cancer Res. 2011 Jan 15;71(2):413-23
references.pmid: 21084270
references.citation: J Urol. 2006 May;175(5):1679-83; discussion 1683
references.pmid: 16600728