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Vitamin D from dietary intake and sunlight exposure and the risk of hormone-receptor-defined breast cancer. Blackmore KM, Lesosky M, Barnett H, Raboud JM, Vieth R, Knight JA. Am J Epidemiol. 2008 Oct 15;168(8):915-24. Epub 2008 Aug 27. PMID: 18756015 doi:10.1093/aje/kwn198 This study suggests that vitamin D is associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer regardless of ER/PR status of the tumor. Future studies with a larger number of receptor-negative and mixed tumors are required.

The role of vitamin D in cancer prevention. Garland CF, Garland FC, Gorham ED, Lipkin M, Newmark H, Mohr SB, Holick MF. Am J Public Health. 2006 Feb;96(2):252-61. Epub 2005 Dec 27. Review. PMID: 16380576 DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2004.045260 Vitamin D status differs by latitude and race, with residents of the northeastern United States and individuals with more skin pigmentation being at increased risk of deficiency. A PubMed database search yielded 63 observational studies of vitamin D status in relation to cancer risk, including 30 of colon, 13 of breast, 26 of prostate, and 7 of ovarian cancer, and several that assessed the association of vitamin D receptor genotype with cancer risk. The majority of studies found a protective relationship between sufficient vitamin D status and lower risk of cancer. The evidence suggests that efforts to improve vitamin D status, for example by vitamin D supplementation, could reduce cancer incidence and mortality at low cost, with few or no adverse effects.

Vitamin D in cancer patients: above all, do no harm. Goodwin PJ. J Clin Oncol. 2009 May 1;27(13):2117-9. Epub 2009 Apr 6. PMID: 19349538

Prospective study of predictors of vitamin D status and cancer incidence and mortality in men. Giovannucci E, Liu Y, Rimm EB, Hollis BW, Fuchs CS, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2006 Apr 5;98(7):451-9. PMID: 16595781 doi:10.1093/jnci/djj101 Conclusions: Low levels of vitamin D may be associated with increased cancer incidence and mortality in men, particularly for digestive-system cancers. The vitamin D supplementation necessary to achieve a 25(OH)D increment of 25 nmol/L may be at least 1500 IU/day.

The role of vitamin D in cancer prevention. Garland CF, Garland FC, Gorham ED, Lipkin M, Newmark H, Mohr SB, Holick MF. Am J Public Health. 2006 Feb;96(2):252-61. Epub 2005 Dec 27. Review. PMID: 16380576 DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2004.045260 Vitamin D status differs by latitude and race, with residents of the northeastern United States and individuals with more skin pigmentation being at increased risk of deficiency. A PubMed database search yielded 63 observational studies of vitamin D status in relation to cancer risk, including 30 of colon, 13 of breast, 26 of prostate, and 7 of ovarian cancer, and several that assessed the association of vitamin D receptor genotype with cancer risk. The majority of studies found a protective relationship between sufficient vitamin D status and lower risk of cancer. The evidence suggests that efforts to improve vitamin D status, for example by vitamin D supplementation, could reduce cancer incidence and mortality at low cost, with few or no adverse effects

Association between serum 25(OH)D and death from prostate cancer. Tretli S, Hernes E, Berg JP, Hestvik UE, Robsahm TE. Br J Cancer. 2009 Feb 10;100(3):450-4. Epub 2009 Jan 20. PMID: 19156140 doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6604865 The serum level of 25(OH)D may be involved in disease progression and is a potential marker of prognosis in patients with prostate cancer.

Prospective study of predictors of vitamin D status and survival in patients with colorectal cancer K Ng, B M Wolpin, J A Meyerhardt, K Wu, A T Chan, B W Hollis, E L Giovannucci, M J Stampfer, W C Willett and C S Fuchs Br J Cancer 101: 916-923; advance online publication, August 18, 2009; doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6605262

Prognostic effects of 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in early breast cancer. Goodwin PJ, Ennis M, Pritchard KI, Koo J, Hood N. J Clin Oncol. 2009 Aug 10;27(23):3757-63. Epub 2009 May 18. PMID: 19451439 DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2008.20.0725 Conclusion Vitamin D deficiency may be associated with poor outcomes in breast cancer.

Circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin d levels and survival in patients with colorectal cancer. Ng K, Meyerhardt JA, Wu K, Feskanich D, Hollis BW, Giovannucci EL, Fuchs CS. J Clin Oncol. 2008 Jun 20;26(18):2984-91. PMID: 18565885 DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2007.15.1027 Conclusion Among patients with colorectal cancer, higher prediagnosis plasma 25(OH)D levels were associated with a significant improvement in overall survival. Further study of the vitamin D pathway and its influence on colorectal carcinogenesis and cancer progression is warranted.

Vitamin D and calcium supplementation reduces cancer risk: results of a randomized trial. Lappe JM, Travers-Gustafson D, Davies KM, Recker RR, Heaney RP. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Jun;85(6):1586-91. Erratum in: Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Mar;87(3):794. PMID: 17556697 Conclusions: Improving calcium and vitamin D nutritional status substantially reduces all-cancer risk in postmenopausal women.

High prevalence of vitamin D deficiency despite supplementation in premenopausal women with breast cancer undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy. Crew KD, Shane E, Cremers S, McMahon DJ, Irani D, Hershman DL. J Clin Oncol. 2009 May 1;27(13):2151-6. Epub 2009 Apr 6. PMID: 19349547 DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2008.19.6162 Conclusion Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in women with breast cancer. The current recommended dietary allowance of vitamin D is too low to increase serum 25-OHD greater than 30 ng/mL. Optimal dosing for bone health and, possibly, improved survival has yet to be determined.

Researchers at McGill University and the University of Pennsylvania have discovered that a widely used anti-diabetic drug can boost the immune system and increase the potency of vaccines and cancer treatments. Their findings will be published June 3 in the journal Nature. The discovery was made by Dr. Russell Jones, an assistant professor at McGill's Goodman Cancer Centre and the Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Yongwon Choi, PhD, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, and postdoctoral fellow Erika Pearce, PhD, of the University of Pennsylvania. They discovered that the widely prescribed diabetes treatment metformin increases the efficiency of the immune system's T-cells, which in turn makes cancer and virus-fighting vaccines more effective.

Our findings suggest that administration of n-3 FA (EPA and DHA) in doses of at least 1.5 g/day for a prolonged period of time to patients with advanced cancer is associated with an improvement in clinical, biological and QoL parameters. N-3 fatty acids, cancer and cachexia: a systematic review of the literature. Colomer R, Moreno-Nogueira JM, García-Luna PP, García-Peris P, García-de-Lorenzo A, Zarazaga A, Quecedo L, del Llano J, Usán L, Casimiro C. Br J Nutr. 2007 May;97(5):823-31. Review. PMID: 17408522 doi:10.1017/S000711450765795X

What if we didn't try to cure cancer, but simply kept tumors from growing too big? That's what radiologist Robert Gatenby of the Moffitt Cancer Center proposes this week in the journal Nature. Gatenby argues that high doses of powerful chemotherapies wreak havoc on a patient's immune system and foster the rapid regrowth of chemoresistant cancers that doctors have no hope of fighting.  So instead of curing cancer, he suggests doctors aim to stabilize the tumor at a tolerable size. In practice, this would mean that doctors identify a target size for an individual tumor that gives the patient the best quality of life.  Then, they will regularly monitor the tumor's growth with medical imaging equipment like a PET/CT scanner (see photo), and regulate doses of anticancer drugs to maintain it at a precise volume.

A ground-breaking Canada-wide clinical trial led by Dr. Katherine Borden, at the Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer (IRIC) of the Universit de Montral, has shown that a common anti-viral drug, ribavirin, can be beneficial in the treatment of cancer patients. Published in the journal Blood (First Edition), the study demonstrates that ribavirin suppresses the activities of the eIF4E gene in patients. This gene is dysregulated in 30 percent of cancers including breast, prostate, head and neck, colon and stomach cancer.

Multiple roles for CD4+ T cells in anti-tumor immune responses. Kennedy R, Celis E. Immunol Rev. 2008 Apr;222:129-44. Review. PMID: 18363998 DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-065X.2008.00616.x

Interleukin 2-mediated conversion of ovarian cancer-associated CD4+ regulatory T cells into proinflammatory interleukin 17-producing helper T cells. Leveque L, Deknuydt F, Bioley G, Old LJ, Matsuzaki J, Odunsi K, Ayyoub M, Valmori D. J Immunother. 2009 Feb-Mar;32(2):101-8. PMID: 19238008 doi: 10.1097/CJI.0b013e318195b59e Thus, although the impact of TH17 cells on the evolution of EOC remains to be established, our data suggest that local IL-2 treatment in ovarian cancer may result in the conversion of tumor-associated Treg into TH17 cells, relieve Treg-mediated suppression, and contribute to enhance antitumor immunity.

"Results indicated that mice on diets supplemented with flaxseed meal and flaxseed oil had, on average, 45 percent fewer tumors in the small intestine and the colon compared to the control group." The scientists published their research findings in February in the academic peer-reviewed international journal Nutrition and Cancer.

PHILADELPHIA - Researchers at Amgen are testing a fully human monoclonal antibody that inhibits the activity of insulin-like growth factors (IGF-1 and IGF-2) and appears to reduce pancreatic cancer cells in early testing, according to a report in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Is regular exercise a friend or foe of the aging immune system? A systematic review. Haaland DA, Sabljic TF, Baribeau DA, Mukovozov IM, Hart LE. Clin J Sport Med. 2008 Nov;18(6):539-48. Review. PMID: 19001887 doi: 10.1097/JSM.0b013e3181865eec