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Robien K, Cutler GJ, Lazovich D. Vitamin D intake and breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women: the Iowa Women's Health Study. Cancer Causes Control. 2007 Sep;18(7):775-82. Epub 2007 Jun 5. PMID: 17549593 [PubMed - in process]

MedWire News: Calcitriol, the active form of vitamin D, has been found to induce the tumor-suppressing protein CCAAT enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP)α, which can inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells, researchers report.

"Thursday, 17 December 2009 This blog is in response to Dr Briffa's post here. as I keep having problems commenting on his blogs. While 44ng/ml is sufficient to not only maximize uptake of calcium (>32ng/ml) and ensure maximum bone mineral density (>42ng/ml), pregnant and nursing mothers should be aware that in order to maximize the amount of vitamin D3 in human breast milk 6400iu/daily was found to be necessary to raise (>58ng/ml) at latitude 32. This is detailed in the Taylor, Wagner and Hollis paper. Vitamin D supplementation during lactation to support infant and mother. Although 4000iu/daily met the mothers daily needs in full it left babies being born with lower 25(OH)D status than required for optimum calcium absorption They also found DAILY use of supplements was required by pregnant and nursing mothers to ensure an even daily Vitamin D3 supply to the foetus & baby. It makes virtually no measurable difference for everyone else if you supplement daily or weekly. While Dr Briffa will not be lactating he may be interested seeing in the Grassrootshealth chart showing disease incidence by 25(OH)D status. this may encourage him to go just another 10ng/ml higher and a bit nearer to the natural level at which human breast milk flows replete with D3."

(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

"ScienceDaily (Oct. 8, 2009) - Women with breast cancer should be given high doses of vitamin D because a majority of them are likely to have low levels of vitamin D, which could contribute to decreased bone mass and greater risk of fractures, according to scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center." Scientists funded by the NCI analyzed vitamin D levels in each woman, and the average level was 27 nanograms per milliliter; more than two-thirds of the women had vitamin deficiency. Weekly supplementation with high doses of vitamin D -- 50,000 international units or more -- improved the levels, according to Peppone's study. The U.S. Institute of Medicine suggests that blood levels nearing 32 nanograms per milliliter are adequate.

A phase 2 trial exploring the effects of high-dose (10,000 IU/day) vitamin D(3) in breast cancer patients with bone metastases. Amir E, Simmons CE, Freedman OC, Dranitsaris G, Cole DE, Vieth R, Ooi WS, Clemons M. Cancer. 2009 Nov 13. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19918922 DOI: 10.1002/cncr.24749 METHODS: Patients with bone metastases treated with bisphosphonates were enrolled into this single-arm phase 2 study. Patients received 10,000 IU of vitamin D3 and 1000 mg of calcium supplementation each day for 4 months. The effect of this treatment on palliation, bone resorption markers, calcium metabolism, and toxicity were evaluated at baseline and monthly thereafter. CONCLUSIONS: Daily doses of 10,000 IU vitamin D3 for 4 months appear safe in patients without comorbid conditions causing hypersensitivity to vitamin D. Treatment reduced inappropriately elevated parathyroid hormone levels, presumably caused by long-term bisphosphonate use. There did not appear to be a significant palliative benefit nor any significant change in bone resorption. Cancer 2010. © 2009 American Cancer Society.

Vitamin D A Key Player In Overall Health Of Several Body Organs, Says Biochemist In a paper published in the August issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Norman identifies vitamin D's potential for contributions to good health in the adaptive and innate immune systems, the secretion and regulation of insulin by the pancreas, the heart and blood pressure regulation, muscle strength and brain activity. In addition, access to adequate amounts of vitamin D is believed to be beneficial towards reducing the risk of cancer. Norman also lists 36 organ tissues in the body whose cells respond biologically to vitamin D. The list includes bone marrow, breast, colon, intestine, kidney, lung, prostate, retina, skin, stomach and the uterus.

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

Current impediments to acceptance of the ultraviolet-B-vitamin D-cancer hypothesis. Grant WB, Boucher BJ. Anticancer Res. 2009 Sep;29(9):3597-604. PMID: 19667154 The ultraviolet-B (UVB)-vitamin D-cancer hypothesis was proposed in 1980. There have been numerous ecological, observational and other studies of the hypothesis. There are about 14 types of cancer for which it seems to apply: bladder, breast, colon, endometrial, esophageal, gallbladder, gastric, ovarian, pancreatic, rectal, renal and vulvar cancer and both Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Nonetheless, the hypothesis has not yet been accepted by public health agencies. Some of the reasons for this include a distrust of ecological studies, some mistrust of observational studies, and the existence of just one positive randomized controlled trial, an analysis of a vitamin D and calcium supplementation study involving post-menopausal women in Nebraska. Paradigm shifts such as this generally take time, in part due to opposition from those content with the status quo. In this paper, results of ecological studies in the United States using summertime solar UVB as the index of vitamin D production, which is highly asymmetrical with respect to latitude, and indices for other cancer risk-modifying factors (air pollution, alcohol consumption, dietary iron and zinc, ethnic background, socioeconomic status, smoking and urban/rural residence) are discussed in terms of supporting the hypothesis. These studies were not considered while other ecological studies were examined in recent critiques of the hypothesis. While additional randomized controlled trials would, of course, be helpful, the current evidence seems to satisfy the criteria for causality as outlined by A. Bradford Hill.

The vitamin D craze has been building over the last few years, with low levels of the supplement being the blamed as a source of many of our ills. Depression? D can ease it. Chronic pain? Take D. It is said to prevent kidney disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, colon and breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, or even the common cold. Recently, a study linked low vitamin D levels to the rise in Caesarean births.

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 association with estradiol and progesterone in young women. Knight JA, Wong J, Blackmore KM, Raboud JM, Vieth R. Cancer Causes Control. 2009 Nov 15. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19916051 CONCLUSIONS: Higher levels of vitamin D may reduce progesterone and estradiol, providing a potential mechanism for reduction in breast cancer risk from increased vitamin D exposure in young women.

Vitamin D association with estradiol and progesterone in young women. Knight JA, Wong J, Blackmore KM, Raboud JM, Vieth R. Cancer Causes Control. 2009 Nov 15. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 19916051 Conclusions Higher levels of vitamin D may reduce progesterone and estradiol, providing a potential mechanism for reduction in breast cancer risk from increased vitamin D exposure in young women

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.

A critical review of Vitamin D and cancer: A report of the IARC Working Group on vitamin D William B. Grant Dermato-Endocrinology. Volume 1, Issue 1 January/February 2009 Pages: 25 - 33 The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) released a report, Vitamin D and Cancer, on November 25, 2008. The report focused on the current state of knowledge and level of evidence of a causal association between vitamin D status and cancer risk. Although presenting and evaluating evidence for the beneficial role of UVB and vitamin D in reducing the risk of cancer, it discounted or omitted important evidence in support of the efficacy of vitamin D. The report largely dismissed or ignored ecological studies on the grounds that confounding factors might have affected the findings. The report accepted a preventive role of vitamin D in colorectal cancer but not for breast cancer.

David Feldman, MD, professor of medicine at Stanford, explores the biological action of Vitamin D beyond its widely understood role in the information and maintenance of bone. Emerging therapeutic uses of the vitamin include the prevention and treatment of breast, prostate and colon cancer, chronic kidney disease and arthritis, among other conditions.

Dear Colleague: What public health action could you take today that could possibly stop breast cancer and colon cancer, prevent type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis, and reduce the incidence of infectious diseases? What would be the economic impact of this action? A group of physicians and researchers in the vitamin D field are presenting information at this conference to look at the current research and practice with vitamin D to enable everyone to take action today based on what's known to solve the deficiency epidemic, and, to start the prevention of many diseases.

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."

Vitamin D may not just be good for you, it may help save your life. Recent research from Johns Hopkins University suggests that higher amounts of vitamin D in your diet decreases your likelihood of dying. Studies found that a vitamin D deficiency increases your risk of death by 26 percent, and vitamin D decreases the mortality rate from almost every type of cancer including breast, colon and prostate. Research also suggests that vitamin D helps prevent diabetes, kidney disease and cardiovascular disease.