Review: A good vitamin D status can protect against cancer 评论：良好的维生素D状态可以预防癌症

News Release 10-Jun-2020

Editor’s comment: It has been known for a long time that vitamin D deficiency is linked to elevated risk for 17 types of cancer. With sufficient vitamin D, cancer patients can survive for a longer time. The only concern with vitamin D supplementation in high doses is the loss of calcium from bones. That is why the drug companies are trying to synthesize vitamin D analogues that have the same therapeutic effect but less side effects. In any case, long term moderate supplementation of vitamin D is considered safe. For that reason, each and every cancer patient should take vitamin D supplements or get exposed to sun rays whenever possible.

编者按：长期以来，人们一直知道维生素D缺乏与17种癌症的风险增加有关。 有了足够的维生素D，癌症患者可以生存更长的时间。 大剂量补充维生素D的唯一问题是骨骼中钙的流失。 这就是为什么制药公司试图合成具有相同治疗作用但副作用较小的维生素D类似物的原因。 无论如何，长期适量补充维生素D被认为是安全的。 因此，每位癌症患者都应服用维生素D补充剂或尽可能暴露在阳光下。

University of Eastern Finland

A good vitamin D status is beneficial both in cancer prevention and in the prognosis of several cancers, according to a new research review. The anti-cancer effects of vitamin D are especially pronounced in the prevention and treatment of colon cancer and blood cancers. In addition, high vitamin D responsiveness can be linked to a smaller cancer risk. Vitamin D responsiveness varies between individuals, affecting their need for vitamin D supplementation.

The review article, published in Seminars in Cancer Biology and written by Professor Carsten Carlberg from the University of Eastern Finland and Professor Alberto Muñoz from the Autonomous University of Madrid, provides an update on the molecular basis of vitamin D signaling and its role in cancer prevention and therapy.

Vitamin D is commonly known for its crucial role in bone health, but the authors point out it also regulates the immune system, and its anti-cancer effects are mediated mainly by immune cells, such as monocytes and T cells. Vitamin D exerts its effects via the vitamin D receptor (VDR), which is a transcription factor involved in the expression and epigenetic regulation of numerous genes.

According to the review, studies focusing on the effect of vitamin D on different types of cancers provide the strongest evidence of its benefits in colorectal cancer and in blood cancers, such as leukemias and lymphomas. Vitamin D is important both for the differentiation of blood cells during hematopoiesis as well as adult stem cells in rapidly regenerating tissues, such as colon or skin. A too low vitamin D status leads to a suboptimal function of the VDR and in an increased risk that these cells are not fully differentiating and start to turn into uncontrolled growing cancer cells.

Even in other types of cancer, such as breast and prostate cancer, a low vitamin D status, measured as the level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the blood, has been associated with a higher cancer incidence and a poorer prognosis. However, vitamin D supplementation has not been consistently shown to reduce cancer mortality in randomized controlled trials. According to the authors of the review, the impact of vitamin D could be shown more clearly if the participants were stratified according to their individual vitamin D responsiveness and the health outcomes analyzed in relation to changes in individual vitamin D status.

Professor Carlberg’s research group has earlier shown that individuals differ in their molecular response or sensitivity to vitamin D supplementation. For example, 25% of the Finnish population seem to be low responders, needing a higher dose of vitamin D supplementation to reach the full clinical benefit. In terms of cancer risk, being a high responder can be expected to have a protective effect.

According to the review, a good vitamin D status is beneficial in general cancer prevention. There is less evidence of its usefulness in the treatment of cancer.

###

For further information, please contact:

Professor Carsten Carlberg, carsten.carlberg (a) uef.fi, +358403553062

Review article: Carsten Carlberg & Alberto Muñoz. An update on vitamin D signaling and cancer. Seminars in Cancer Biology. Available online 30 May 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semcancer.2020.05.018