Vitamin D is an essential nutrient for the body. It is involved in numerous processes, the most important of these is bone metabolism. But the most recent talk of Vitamin D is its potential to help prevent various cancers. In previous studies people with a greater intake of Vitamin D, or more sun exposure, have lower risk of developing colon, prostate, and breast cancer.
Now a new study from Harvard University finds that Vitamin D intake may also be associated with a lower risk of pancreatic cancer. The results from a large epidemiological trial were published this month in the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention.
Humans get Vitamin D from two main sources, food and the sun. Most of our Vitamin D comes from a reaction between UV sunlight and chemicals in the skin. Dairy, fish and eggs are dietary sources. Currently the Daily recommended intake of Vitamin D is 400 IU but this value may change because many adults have low levels in the blood.
In this study more than 120,000 men and women were questioned about Vitamin D intake and sun exposure to estimate their potential levels. Then pancreatic cancer incidence was compared to Vitamin D intake.
The results showed that individuals with a Vitamin D intake greater than 400 IU had almost a 50% reduction in risk for developing pancretic cancer. If the intake was greater than 150 IU per day the risk was still low, with a 22% reduction.
The study did not elaborate on the source of Vitamin D, and if sun exposure played a big role. In other studies linking Vitamin D to cancer, those who lived in a sunny location had lower risk.
The authors are optimistic about the results because pancreatic cancer has no current screening guidelines. More than 30,000 cases of pancreatic cancer will be diagnosed each year, with only 5% of patients able to survive more than 5 years.
Because it is such a deadly cancer, the suggestion that Vitamin D could help prevent the cancer and possibly lower total mortality associated with it is good news. There has not been any other established dietary or environmental factor shown to effect pancreatic cancer, so a milestone has definately been reached.
Posted by Dr. Christina Gutierrez on September 13, 2006 04:05 PM
