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Geographic variation of prostate cancer mortality rates in the United States: Implications for prostate cancer risk related to vitamin D. Grant WB. Int J Cancer. 2004 Sep 1;111(3):470-1; author reply 472. No abstract available. PMID: 15221981 10.1002/ijc.20220 The implications of our results and those of Tuohimaa et al.[1] include the following. Vitamin D supplementation should be undertaken in wintertime, a period when it is impossible to produce vitamin D by solar UVB exposure in northeastern states.[13] Given these new results, the optimal vitamin D intake and production and serum 25(OH)-vitamin D3 levels for prostate cancer appear to be lower than for other cancers. However, when developing guidelines for vitamin D fortification, many factors should be included in the analysis, including all of the potential health benefits and possible risks of vitamin D, as well as age, sex, residence, child-bearing status, etc.[14] Also, the suggestion that daily vitamin D3 supplement doses of 100 g (4,000 IU)/day are safe[15] should be reexamined. Finally, in terms of preventing prostate cancer, more attention should be given to diet, which has the greatest environmental impact on risk of prostate cancer, with animal products being important risk factors and vegetable products, especially onions and other allium family members, being important risk-reduction factors.[16]

Vitamin D for cancer prevention: global perspective. Garland CF, Gorham ED, Mohr SB, Garland FC. Ann Epidemiol. 2009 Jul;19(7):468-83. Review. PMID: 19523595 RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS: It is projected that raising the minimum year-around serum 25(OH)D level to 40 to 60 ng/mL (100-150 nmol/L) would prevent approximately 58,000 new cases of breast cancer and 49,000 new cases of colorectal cancer each year, and three fourths of deaths from these diseases in the United States and Canada, based on observational studies combined with a randomized trial. Such intakes also are expected to reduce case-fatality rates of patients who have breast, colorectal, or prostate cancer by half. There are no unreasonable risks from intake of 2000 IU per day of vitamin D(3), or from a population serum 25(OH)D level of 40 to 60 ng/mL. The time has arrived for nationally coordinated action to substantially increase intake of vitamin D and calcium.

Women who are vitamin D deficient when they are diagnosed with breast cancer are more likely to have their disease spread and are more likely to die than women who have adequate vitamin D levels, new Canadian research says. The study found that women who were vitamin D deficient were 94 per cent more likely to have their cancer metastasize (spread) and 73 per cent more likely to die. The research was led by Dr. Pamela Goodwin, a breast cancer researcher at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. The study analyzed blood samples and disease outcome from more than 500 women diagnosed with breast cancer between 1989 and 1995. Women were followed up for an average of 11 years.

"(NaturalNews) Treatment with vitamin D supplements may slow the progress of , according to a study published in the journal BJU International. In the United States, prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among men, after lung cancer. Approximately 240,000 new cases are diagnosed every year, leading to 30,000 deaths. Researchers have suspected for nearly two decades that the so-called "sunshine vitamin" may play a role in the risk and progression of prostate cancer, but no studies have previously been conducted on its usefulness as a treatment."

"In a prospective study involving 6,937 men and women, higher levels of vitamin D were associated with a significantly lower risk of lung cancer in women and younger participants. During a maximum follow-up of 24 years, 122 cases of lung cancer were identified. After adjusting for potential confounders, higher serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were associated with reduced risk of lung cancer risk in women (84% reduced risk) and younger participants (66% reduced risk). No association was observed between vitamin D status and lung cancer risk in men and older participants. "

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) May 25, 2009 -- Coming on the heels of the publishing in the Annals of Epidemiology of a new study led by Dr. Cedric Garland, on the preventive measures of vitamin D, GrassrootsHealth D*action Project is calling on physicians, health clinics and groups throughout the country to recognize the need for determining vitamin D levels and to ensure the public have their blood levels of vitamin D tested. According to research from the newly published study by Cedric F. Garland, Dr. P.H., FACE, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine and Moores Cancer Center of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), "It is projected that raising the minimum year-around serum 25(OH)D level to 40-60 ng/ml (100-150 nmol/L) would prevent approximately 58,000 new cases of breast cancer and 49,000 new cases of colorectal cancer each year, and three quarters of deaths from these diseases, in the US and Canada."

(VIDEO) Shedding light on the vitamin D deficiency 'crisis' By GrassRootsHealth.com Oct 11, 2009 - 4:49:39 PM San Diego, CA - Can vitamin D prevent 80% of the incidence of breast cancer? What is its affect on colon cancer and other major illnesses? These questions and more will be addressed when some of the most prominent vitamin D researchers in North America participate in the " Diagnosis & Treatment of Vitamin D Deficiency" seminar presented by GrassrootsHealth at the University of Toronto on Tuesday, November 3 from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. GrassrootsHealth is the founder of D*action, an international public health project whose goal is to solve the vitamin D deficiency epidemic. GrassrootsHealth and D*action work with over 30 scientists, institutions and individuals committed to educate, test, and study vitamin D levels worldwide. At the conference, a group of physicians and researchers in the vitamin D field will discuss vitamin D's role in the potential prevention of many diseases, including breast cancer, colon cancer, type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis, the ultimate reduction in the incidence of infectious diseases and the economic impact of such action

"Vitamin D may be more important to colon cancer prevention than previously believed, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (Vol. 290, No. 22: 2959-2967). The study examined people with no symptoms of colon cancer to determine what role diet, exercise, smoking, and other behaviors played in the development or not of colon polyps, small growths in the colon that can turn into cancer if they aren't removed."

Human lung tumors have the ability to eliminate Vitamin D, a hormone with anti-cancer activity, a new study from the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) suggests. Results of the study are being presented at the 100th annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), April 18 to 22, in Denver.

In the last post, we talked about the new report on vitamin D and cancer from the International Agency for Research into Cancer (IARC). In this one, we'll summarise what the report has to say on the balance between getting enough vitamin D through sun exposure and reducing the risk of skin cancer by being SunSmart. IARC calls for more trials to really pin down the effects of vitamin D supplements - either positive or negative - depending on how much vitamin D people already have in their system. Until then, they feel that there is no solid basis for changing any existing recommendations about vitamin D.

This month, the authoritative International Agency for Research into Cancer (IARC) have weighed in on the issue. By gathering a group of expert scientists, they have looked at all the available evidence and published a detailed report on vitamin D and cancer. The massive tome weighs in at 465 pages, but we'll take a look at the key points in the first of two posts looking at the vitamin D debate. It is impossible for us to get more than about five percent of the vitamin D we need from our diet - unless, like Eskimos, we eat oily fish three times a day.

MedWire News: Serum levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D) play a role in prostate cancer disease progression and are a potential prognostic indicator, Norwegian study findings suggest.

ScienceDaily (Dec. 5, 2009) - A new study has found that the amount of vitamin D in patients being treated for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma was strongly associated with cancer progression and overall survival. The results will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology in New Orleans. Also, several recent reports have concluded that vitamin D deficiency is associated with poor outcomes in other cancers, including breast, colon and head and neck cancer. This is the first study to look at lymphoma outcome

Vitamin D's days of obscurity seem pretty much over. Once just an afterthought to most people-relegated to the sides of milk cartons and the pages of medical texts-it's now on the cusp of becoming a full-fledged disease prevention star. Although vitamin D has long been known as an important factor in bone health, a quickly growing body of evidence now shows that it may also help lower the risk of cancer, heart disease, and even premature death.[1], [2] Not surprisingly, scientists and the public have started to take note, particularly of vitamin D's potential to protect against cancer

This web site is dedicated to vitamin D and cancer. This is because exciting new research indicates that vitamin D-whether produced in the skin as a result of exposure to ultraviolet radiation (from sunlight or sun lamps) or obtained from supplementation with cholecalciferol (vitamin D3)-may help cancer patients. However, the research is far from complete.

"A study conducted by Cedric Garland and other prominent vitamin D researchers determined that women with vitamin D levels above 52 ng/ml have half the risk of developing breast cancer as those with 13 ng/ml! Garland (et al) estimates that 58,000 new cases of breast cancer in the U.S. could be prevented per year by raising vitamin D levels to 52 ng/ml. Imagine what the global impact could be! "

"June 29, 2009 | Shelley Wood Boston, MA - A massive, National Institutes of Health-sponsored study looking at whether vitamin-D and/or omega-3 fatty-acid supplementation can reduce the risk of developing heart disease, stroke, or cancer will get under way in January 2010, according to a website for the study. Drs JoAnn Manson and Julie Buring (Harvard Medical School/ Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA) will head up the Vitamin D and Omega-3 Trial (VITAL). The study is aiming to enroll 20 000 men and women, one-quarter of whom will be black. According to a Brigham and Women's Hospital press release, the study is intentionally aiming to illuminate a potential racial and ethnic disparity hypothesized to be linked to vitamin D [1]. "African Americans have a higher risk of vitamin-D deficiency as well as a greater frequency of diabetes, hypertension, and certain types of cancer," a press release notes. For VITAL, women need to be over age 65 to enter the study; men need to be over age 60. Study participants will be randomized to one of four groups: daily vitamin D (2000 IU) and fish oil (1 g); daily vitamin D and fish-oil placebo; daily vitamin-D placebo and fish oil; or daily vitamin-D placebo and fish-oil placebo. The trial will run for five years and is expected to cost US $20 million."

Cancer incidence and mortality and vitamin d in black and white male health professionals.

Comment: Although lower risk associated with vitamin D exposure was shown most consistently for ER+/PR+ tumors, the result might simply reflect that this tumor subtype was the most common. Nonetheless, these findings support vitamin D's beneficial effects on breast cancer risk, regardless of hormone-receptor status. Sun exposure and dietary intake (Table 1) are key sources of vitamin D.