Fighting cancer with vitamin D
Healthy levels of serum vitamin D provide significant protection against many types of cancers, according to University of Maine researchers, who did a literature survey of vitamin D studies conducted in the past 37 years.
"These studies find that the higher the UV exposure, dietary intake and serum level of 25(OH)D, the lower the incidence and mortality from cancers of the breast, colon, lung, pancreas, prostate, melanoma and Hodgkin’s lymphoma," write UMaine researchers Betty Ingraham, Beth Bragdon and Anja Nohe in the journal "Current Medical Research and Opinion."

Vitamin D, obtained from diet, supplements and sunlight, is essential in cell growth and function. In particular, calcitriol, an active form of vitamin D, has a critical role in regulating cellular mechanisms involved in cancer development.
But while epidemiological, preclinical and clinical trials provide overwhelming evidence that calcitriol can prevent cancers of the colon, breast, prostate, ovary and pancreas, as well as Hodgkin’s lymphoma, nearly all studies indicate that most people have below-normal levels of serum vitamin D.