Vitamin D therapy for cancer
Treating cancer with Vitamin D
Vitamin D (also referred to as “calciferol”) is a fat-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in a few foods, added to others, and available as a dietary supplement. It is also produced endogenously when ultraviolet (UV) rays from sunlight strike the skin and trigger vitamin D synthesis. Source: US Office of Dietary Supplements
There is overwhelming evidence that Vitamin D Improves cancer survival
Vitamin D shows 49% lowers breast cancer-specific mortality.
In this study, Irish researchers looked at a cohort of 5417 women with a diagnosis of stage I–III breast cancer who were not dispensed vitamin D supplements before diagnosis.
Of these, 2581 (49%) initiated vitamin D use after breast cancer diagnosis and the vast majority (98%) of these were on a vitamin D and calcium combination drug.
They found that the women who initiated vitamin D supplements within the first 6 months of their breast cancer diagnosis had a 49% lower breast cancer-specific mortality.
Vitamin D shows significant reduction of cancer-related mortality
This study reviewed 10 Random Controlled Trials with 79,055 patients with a minimum follow-up of 4 years and more. Vitamin D was associated with significant reduction of cancer-related mortality compared with placebo…
Post-diagnosis vitamin D improved overall survival
This study concluded, post-diagnosis vitamin D supplement use among cancer patients was associated with an improved overall survival, but was not related to progression-free survival, cancer-specific survival, or relapse.
Vitamin D – get your level up to around 125 ng/ml
Why? Vitamin D is crucial to the working of your immune system – study..
Furthermore, chemo depletes Vitamin D levels so 10,000 IUs daily is recommended for cancer patients – ask your doctor first.
Higher levels of Vitamin D at the time of diagnosis improves survival.
This study population was 658 patients with cancers of the breast, colon, lung, and lymphoma. Compared to patients with the lowest levels of Vitamin D, the risk of cancer death among patients in the highest quartile was significantly reduced for all four cancers.
Breast cancer patients with high vitamin D levels twice as likely to survive
A meta-analysis of five studies published in Anticancer Research found that patients diagnosed with breast cancer who had high vitamin D levels were twice as likely to survive compared to women with low levels.
Lower Vitamin D associated with higher risk of death and distant recurrence.
This 2011 study of 1,295 postmenopausal breast cancer patients says: Lower concentrations of 25(OH)D were linearly associated with higher risk of death …and significantly higher risk of distant recurrence.
Vitamin D has inhibitory on Cancer Stem Cells
This study says: Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a small subset of cells that may be responsible for initiation, progression and recurrence of tumors. Vitamin D and its analogs have inhibitory effects on cancer stem cell signaling in various types of human cancer cells and may be promising therapeutic/preventive agents against CS.
Increasing evidence confirms that everyday sunshine is a determinant of health and has an important role in preventing or ameliorating many afflictions, including depression, cancer, and postoperative pain. Although sunshine has been used therapeutically throughout history, sun exposure has been discouraged lately with allegations that solar rays induce skin cancer. Recent studies, however, cast doubt on the wisdom of solar abstinence.
Stephen J Genuis, MD, FRCSC, DABOG
Significant link between Vitamin D use and lower risk of cancer death.
This Review says: Researchers at Michigan State University analyzed data from10 randomized controlled trials with a total of 79,055 participants. They found a significant link between the use of vitamin D supplements and a lower risk of death to cancer over the follow-up period
Beneficial effects of sun exposure on cancer mortality
A research article Beneficial effects of sun exposure on cancer mortality analyzed a number of studies. It said the studies show that
- regular sunlight/vitamin D “intake” inhibits growth of breast and colon cancer cells and is associated with substantial decreases in death rates from these cancers;
- sunlight has a paradoxical relationship with melanoma, in that severe sunburning initiates melanoma whereas long-term regular sun exposure inhibits melanoma;
- frequent regular sun exposure acts to cause cancers that have a 0.3% death rate with 2,000 U.S. fatalities per year and acts to prevent cancers that have death rates from 20-65% with 138,000 U.S. fatalities per year;
- there is support in the medical literature to suggest that the 17% increase in breast cancer incidence during the 1991-1992 year may be the result of the past decade of pervasive anti-sun advisories from respected authorities, coinciding with effective sunscreen availability; and
- trends in the epidemiological literature suggest that approximately 30,000 U.S. cancer deaths yearly would be averted by the widespread public adoption of regular, moderate sunning.
Sunshine protects you from cancer!
Source: CANCERactive
Consider these research-based facts:
* Sunshine on your skin causes vitamin D to be produced from the cholesterol levels beneath.
* When part of your immune system (a T-cell) finds a rogue cell in your body, the first thing it looks for is a vitamin D molecule to ´activate´ it.
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* A deficiency of vitamin D is linked to higher levels of many cancers, and also to other diseases from simple colds to osteoporosis. Vitamin D is a cancer preventer.
* There are several studies which show that over 90 per cent of people with melanoma are deficient in vitamin D. Not surprisingly they have weaker immune systems too. The fact is they haven´t had ENOUGH sun!
* Research shows people who have regular exposure to sunshine get less skin cancer, not more!
* 2009 research from Leeds University showed that vitamin D could prevent skin cancer, and skin cancer patients with higher levels of vitamin D in their blood actually survive longer!
* Possibly the most damning research comes in the Journal of Dermatology in late 2011. Firstly, the researchers conclude that grade 2, 3 and 4 cases of melanoma are not on the increase. They state that the supposed rise in such cancers are because Doctors too readily call grade 1 lesions ´melanoma´ and start treating them when there is no need – ´an artefact´ is how they describe this. Then…
* The same research report concludes that half of genuine melanoma lesions are in places on the body ´where the sun don´t go´.
Rise in breast cancer may have been due to sunscreen use.
A research article which analyzed a number of studies, found:
There is support in the medical literature to suggest that the 17% increase in breast cancer incidence during the 1991-1992 year may be the result of the past decade of pervasive anti-sun advisories from respected authorities, coinciding with effective sunscreen availability; and
Trends in the epidemiological literature suggest that approximately 30,000 U.S. cancer deaths yearly would be averted by the widespread public adoption of regular, moderate sunning.
Modified vitamin D shows promise as treatment for pancreatic cancer
Source: Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund
A synthetic form of vitamin D has been found to collapse the thick fibrous tissue, called stroma, surrounding pancreatic tumours, making the cancer much easier for drugs to reach.
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The discovery, published in the journal Cell, was led by a research team from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in the USA and has already led to human clinical trials.
Ronald Evans, director of Salk’s Gene Expression Laboratory and lead author of the paper said: “While the success of this drug in humans with pancreatic cancer is still unclear, the findings in animal studies were strong, raising hope that ongoing clinical trials will give people with this terrible disease hope for a truly new type of therapy.”
The research team knew that a key factor in the growth of pancreatic tumours is their ability to communicate with nearby cells — called the tumour microenvironment. Tumour cells send out signals that make the microenvironment inflamed and dense. This protective stroma around a tumour not only helps the cancer grow, but blocks the access of immune cells and chemotherapeutic drugs, making the cancer particularly hard to treat.
Evans wanted to figure out how to restore this inflamed microenvironment to its ‘normal’ state and weaken the wall around the tumour. He and his colleagues looked at pancreatic stellate cells, which are usually briefly ‘activated’ to aid new cell growth. Nearby a tumour, however, the stellate cells are hijacked by tumour signals to remain activated. This provides the tumour cells with extra growth factors and therefore helps them proliferate, and also forms a stroma barrier around the tumour.
In 2013, Evans’ group discovered that stellate cells in the liver could be ‘switched off’ by a chemically modified form of vitamin D. They wondered whether the same could hold true in the pancreas.
When the researchers added modified vitamin D to activated stellate cells, the cells quickly reverted back to a ‘switched off’ state, stopping production of signals that spur growth and inflammation.
When the team repeated the experiment with mice, they found that combining the drug with existing chemotherapeutics gave a 50 per cent increase in lifespan compared to chemotherapy alone.
“It’s really remarkable considering that vitamin D itself is not attacking the cancer cells,” says Michael Downes, a senior staff scientist at Salk and co-corresponding author of the new work. “It’s changing the environment to a more favourable setting needed for the chemotherapy drugs to work.”
Evans’ group has already teamed up with clinicians at the University of Pennsylvania to launch a clinical trial testing the effectiveness of using their vitamin D-like drug in cancer patients before pancreatic surgery
Page last updated January 2026