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Vitamin D prevents the development of melanoma and some types of skin cancer
According to the WHO, vitamin D deficiency is a pandemic that affects more than a billion people around the world. Extensive observations in recent years show that about 40% of Europeans are deficient in this nutrient, and 13% suffer from an acute deficiency.
The relationship between the content of vitamin D in the body and the risk of developing cancer has been discussed by scientists for more than a year. So, it is known that low levels of this vitamin are associated with a higher risk of developing breast and colon cancer.
Vitamin D is an important hormone with multiple genetic effects in various tissue types. which are mediated by signaling through gastric D receptors. Recent studies show that brain D signaling is an indicator of innate immunity and enhanced adaptive immunity. Numerous epidemiological studies show that vitamin D may play a role in reducing the risk of several types of cancer, including skin cancer.
Can vitamin D enhance the immune surveillance of melanoma through increased activity of the immune system?
Previous research by our group and others finds that vitamin D may play an important role. in reducing the risk of melanoma.A Finnish study found that regular vitamin D supplementation reduced the risk of melanoma and other skin cancers by almost 50%. The study was conducted by scientists as part of a skin cancer program in Finland. 498 adults took part in this testing. They have been shown to have an increased risk of developing skin cancers such as melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma.
The scientists came to an impressive conclusion: 18% of those who regularly took vitamin D developed melanoma, compared with 32% of those who did not take it. For other types of skin cancer, the statistics were as follows: in those who took vitamin D, cancer was found in 62%, and in those who did not take it – in 75%.
The authors of the work believe that even episodic vitamin D supplementation reduces the risk of developing melanoma to a certain extent. However, there was no statistically significant relationship between vitamin D intake and the degree of photoaging of the skin, the risk of developing actinic keratosis, the number of moles, the likelihood of developing basalioma or squamous cell carcinoma. The levels of calcidiol in the blood also had no effect on this.
The authors of the work note that they only revealed a pattern, but they could not establish causal relationships due to the peculiarities of the study design. In other words, if the use of vitamin D reduces the risk of developing melanoma, it is not yet clear how exactly, due to what molecular mechanisms.
The main purpose of vitamin D in the human body is to ensure the absorption of calcium and phosphorus from food through the walls of the small intestine. So, according to a large number of studies, chronic vitamin D deficiency in young children significantly increases the risk of developing a number of diseases in the future: cardiovascular, oncological, diabetes, obesity, autoimmune diseases, inflammatory bowel diseases, psoriasis, etc.
