Vitamin D Helps To Prevent Cancerous Breasts and Tumor Formation

A connection between vitamin D level and the risk
of developing cancerous breasts has been implicated
for a long time, but its clinical relevance had not
yet been proven. Sascha Abbas and colleagues from
the working group headed by Dr. Jenny Chang-Claude
at the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches
Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ), collaborating
with researchers of the University Hospitals
in Hamburg-Eppendorf, have now obtained clear
results:

While previous studies had concentrated chiefly
on nutritional vitamin D, the researchers have
now investigated the complete vitamin D status.
To this end, they studied 25-hydroxyvitamin D
(25(OH)D) as a marker for both endogenous
vitamin D and vitamin D from food intake.

The result of the study involving 1,394 cancerous
breast patients and an equal number of healthy
women after menopause was surprisingly clear:

Women with a very low blood level of 25(OH)D have
a considerably increased risk for cancerous breasts.
The effect was found to be strongest in women who
were not taking acidic cancerous causing hormones
for relief of menopausal symptoms. However, the
authors note that, in this retrospective study,
diagnosis-related factors such as chemotherapy or
lack of sunlight after prolonged hospital stays
might have contributed to low vitamin levels of
breast cancer patients.

In addition, the investigators focused on the
vitamin D receptor. The gene of this receptor is
found in several variants known as polymorphisms.
The research team of the DKFZ and Eppendorf
Hospitals investigated the effect of four of
these polymorphisms on the risk of developing
cancerous breasts. They found out that carriers
of the Taql polymorphism have a slightly increased
risk of cancerous acidic tumors that carry receptors
for the female acidic sex hormone estrogen on their
surface. No effects on the overall breast cancer
risk were found. A possible explanation offered
by the authors is that vitamin D can exert its
cancerous-preventing effect by counteracting the
growth-promoting effect of the acidic estrogens.

Besides its cancerous-preventing influence with
effects on cell growth, cell differentiation and
programmed cell death (apoptosis), vitamin D
regulates, above all, the calcium metabolism in
our body. Foods that are particularly rich in
vitamin D include cod liver oil, green fruits
and veggies. However, the largest portion of
vitamin D is produced by our own body with the
aid of sunlight.

To learn more about the cause and prevention of
cancer listen to "The pH Miracle for Cancer."