title: Vitamin D and melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer risk and prognosis: a comprehensive review and meta-analysis.
abstract: Vitamin D is formed mainly in the skin upon exposure to sunlight and can as well be taken orally with food or through supplements. While sun exposure is a known risk factor for skin cancer development, vitamin D exerts anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects on melanocytes and keratinocytes in vitro. To clarify the role of vitamin D in skin carcinogenesis, we performed a review of the literature and meta-analysis to evaluate the association of vitamin D serum levels and dietary intake with cutaneous melanoma (CM) and non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) risk and melanoma prognostic factors. Twenty papers were included for an overall 1420 CM and 2317 NMSC. The summary relative risks (SRRs) from random effects models for the association of highest versus lowest vitamin D serum levels was 1.46 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.60-3.53) and 1.64 (95% CI 1.02-2.65) for CM and NMSC, respectively. The SRR for the highest versus lowest quintile of vitamin D intake was 0.86 (95% CI 0.63-1.13) for CM and 1.03 (95% CI 0.95-1.13) for NMSC. Data were suggestive of an inverse association between vitamin D blood levels and CM thickness at diagnosis. Further research is needed to investigate the effect of vitamin D on skin cancer risk in populations with different exposure to sunlight and dietary habits, and to evaluate whether vitamin D supplementation is effective in improving CM survival.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Molecular and Nutritional Epidemiology, Institute for Cancer Research and Prevention, Florence, Italy. Electronic address: s.caini@ispo.toscana.it.
authors.forename: Saverio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Caini
authors.affiliation: International Prevention Research Institute, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Mathieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boniol
authors.affiliation: Division of Dermatoncological Surgery, European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Giulio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tosti
authors.affiliation: Scientific Institute of Romagna for the Study and Treatment of Cancer, Meldola, Italy.
authors.forename: Serena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Magi
authors.affiliation: Scientific Institute of Romagna for the Study and Treatment of Cancer, Meldola, Italy.
authors.forename: Matelda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Medri
authors.affiliation: Scientific Institute of Romagna for the Study and Treatment of Cancer, Meldola, Italy.
authors.forename: Ignazio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Stanganelli
authors.affiliation: Unit of Molecular and Nutritional Epidemiology, Institute for Cancer Research and Prevention, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Palli
authors.affiliation: Unit of Molecular and Nutritional Epidemiology, Institute for Cancer Research and Prevention, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Melania
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Assedi
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology. Hopital Erasme. Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Veronique Del
authors.initials: VD
authors.lastname: Marmol
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gandini
mesh_terms: D019587:Dietary Supplements; D006801:Humans; D008545:Melanoma / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D011379:Prognosis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood*; D014815:Vitamins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D014815:Vitamins; D014807:Vitamin D
keywords: Basal cell cancer; Cutaneous melanoma; Meta-analysis; Non-melanoma skin cancer; Prognosis; Review; Risk; Squamous cell cancer; Vitamin D