Low Vitamin D3 and Cancer

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A current look at the way breast and prostate cancer develops suggests that low vitamin D3 levels enable the spread of the disease. Studies prior to 2010 by the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California San Diego produced a new model of breast, prostate and the entire cancer development. The old-accepted model of breast and prostate cancer development considers genetic mutations to be the basis of cancer affecting the breast and prostate. The new model proposes that loss of communication between cells of the breast and prostate is the key event in the development of breast and prostate cancer and low levels of vitamin D3 could be at least partially responsible. Suffice to say that the study also applies to cancer as a whole, vitamin D3 levels should be monitored in cancer in general.

The recommended form of Vitamin D is vitamin D3 or cholecalciferol. This is the natural form of vitamin D that your body makes from sunlight. However, a clinical study reported in 2008 suggested that vitamin D2 works as well as vitamin D3.

The researchers say communication between cells is crucial to healthy cell turnover but low vitamin D3 and calcium levels can disrupt that communication, allowing aggressive cancer cells to take over. From the study of leader Dr. Cedric Garland, this cellular disruption is the earliest stage of many cancers such as those of the breast and prostrate.

Through years of research and study there is definitive scientific support for this new model of cancer development, authors of the study say that maintaining adequate levels of vitamin D3 could potentially stop the development of breast and prostate cancer at it very earliest stages.

The team who carried out and produced this study has been investigating the tie between vitamin D3 and cancer since the 1990s. Their work has demonstrated an association between low vitamin D3 and breast, prostate cancer, as well as a link between increased and decreased levels of the vitamin and a lower or higher risk for a variety of cancers.

In 2006 a British study of vitamin D3 and breast cancer appears to support these findings. Researchers from the Imperial College London tracked levels of the vitamin in 279 women with invasive breast cancer. Those in the earlier stages of the disease had significantly higher blood levels of the vitamin than did those in the advanced stages and the study concluded that lowered levels of vitamin D3 may promote the progression of cancer.

The importance of vitamin D3 in the development of cancer was further confirmed by a 2009 study by Sylvia Christakos, Ph.D., of the UMDNJ- Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. Her research, published in The Journal of Biological Chemistry, showed that the active form of vitamin D3 induces the production of a protein that can inhibit the growth of breast and prostate cancer cells.

While the most well known benefit of this vitamin is helping to build strong bones, that's just the beginning of what experts are discovering about vitamin D3. A lack of vitamin D3 may well be a breast cancer risk factor with more than half of those with breast and prostate cancer have low vitamin D3 levels according to British researchers. Some experts believe that those with breast and prostate cancer should be tested for vitamin D3 deficiency and given supplements if needed as part of their overall treatment.

Breast and prostate cancer cells have vitamin D3 receptors, and when they're triggered by vitamin D3, a series of molecular changes slow cell growth and cause cell death. Even if it doesn't have a direct impact on the tumor itself, vitamin D3 is important for women and men with breast and prostate cancer respectively due to the increasing use of aromatase inhibitors that also bring a higher risk of fractures.

For the current study, the research team collected blood samples from 166 women with breast cancer to measure the levels of vitamin D3 in the blood. They found that just fewer than 50% had insufficient vitamin D3, with levels between 12.5 and 50 nanomoles per liter of blood. Another 6% had vitamin D3 deficiency with levels under 12.56 nmol/L. When ethnicity was taken into account, vitamin D3 levels were lower in Asian and African women than in others.

Vitamin D3 is found naturally in foods like fatty fish, cod liver oil, egg yolks, beef or calf liver and mushrooms, and in fortified foods like milk, orange juice, yogurt and cereals. If these foods aren't for you, one of the best natural sources of this nutrient is exposure to sunlight - a half hour a day, two times a week without sunscreen. However, due to the potential risk of skin cancer with exposure to sun without sunscreen, many individuals opt to take vitamin D3 supplement daily and use sunscreen.

The researchers theorize that vitamin D3 levels would be higher in the summertime, when there are more hours of daylight and we're out and about more often. The study did not find an association between vitamin D3 levels and the season of the year.

In December 2010 the U.S. Institute of Medicine released updated guidelines on calcium and vitamin D3 intake that suggest that a blood level of 50 nmol/L (or 20 nanograms/milliliter) is enough for 97% of us.

If you've been tested and your levels are lower than this, it might make sense to ask your doctor about vitamin D3 supplements. Remember not to start supplementing before you speak with your doctor - this isn't a good choice for some people.

One thing troubling many medical professionals is that over the last 20 years Americans levels of vitamin D3 have dropped dramatically and deficiencies are a common problem among the aging populations.

Research continues to support the idea that getting enough of this powerhouse nutrient is super helpful to the body, not just as a potential protection against breast and prostate cancer, but also for improved bone health as well.

If you're worried about having low vitamin D3 levels, or other breast and prostate cancer risks, there are things you can do today to help yourself. Consult your doctor and learn all you can about breast and prostate cancer risk factors so you can do what you can to minimize your risk.

Reference and Links

http://www.vrp.com/bone-and-joint/vitamin-d3-higher-doses-reduce-risk-of-common-health-concerns

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-929-vitamin%20d.aspx?activeingredientid=929

http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet/vitamin-d-fact-sheet

http://www.canceractive.com/cancer-active-page-link.aspx?n=509

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4747876/

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/05/12/vitamin-d-may-prevent-breast-cancer.aspx

http://www.healthrevelations.com/2016/03/11/vitamin-d-beat-breast-and-prostate-cancer/

http://cjasn.asnjournals.org/content/3/5/1548.full

http://www.gotoper.com/publications/ajho/2015/2015oct/anticancer-effects-of-vitamin-d

http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/100112p58.shtml

http://www.webmd.com/osteoporosis/features/the-truth-about-vitamin-d-what-kind-of-vitamin-d-is-best

http://www.webmd.com/osteoporosis/features/the-truth-about-vitamin-d-drug-interactions

Disclaimer: The above article is for informational purposes only and should not be misconstrued in any manner to be medical advice or counseling from SitiTalkBlog. Please consult your doctor for medical advice or counseling.

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Ernie J. Burgher is a bi-lingual freelance journalist and author, and speaks English and French. Ernie writes for SitiTalkBlog.

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SitiTalkBlog is focused primarily on Africa's socio-economic and political issues, scientific and medical topics, as well as global current issues and news. SitiTalkBlog also highlights positive entertainment as long as it has the potential to cause us to think and take positive actions. The blog is geared towards sensitizing people to take constructive actions and engineer practical solutions

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