Pancreatic cancer control

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer is characterized by late detection, resistance to therapy, poor prognosis, and an exceptionally high mortality rate. Epidemiology ascribes a chemopreventive role to vitamin D in several cancers including pancreatic cancer. Vitamin D therapy has been ascribed a role previously in tumor inhibition and differentiation in addition to reduction of inflammation and angiogenesis. However, the role of vitamin D in pancreatic cancer prevention or therapy remains elusive to date. Studies have shown a negative correlation between the risk of pancreatic cancer and serum vitamin D levels. It is believed that vitamin D binding to certain conserved sequences called vitamin D response elements in the DNA can alter the expression of genes involved in tumorigenesis. Recent research has elucidated the role of zinc in carcinogenesis, which in turn is found to be affected by vitamin D supplementation. In the light of numerous new-found roles for vitamin D, we review and evaluate the potential actions of the sunshine vitamin with respect to pancreatic cancer prevention and therapy.

Lower Survival and Increased Circulating Suppressor Cells in Patients with Relapsed/Refractory Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma with Deficit of Vitamin D Levels Using R-GDP Plus Lenalidomide (R2-GDP): Results from the R2-GDP-GOTEL Trial

“…The role of vitamin D in some biological processes is well known, like the bone metabolism, or the calcium homeostasis and regulation [5]. However, its role in cancer is controversial, as serum vitamin D or vitamin D supplementation could play a key role in the prevention and treatment of many malignancies [6][7][8][9], although those promising findings were not confirmed in other studies [10,11]. Specifically, vitamin D deficiency has been extensively reported to be a negative prognostic factor in B-cell lymphomas (including DLBCL) [12][13][14][15], in which rituximab and lenalidomide are commonly used [16,17].…”

Vitamin D: Promises on the Horizon and Challenges Ahead for Fighting Pancreatic Cancer

“…Higher levels of blood 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] are associated with longer survival duration in patients with PC [ 14 ]. Experimental evidence indicates that vitamin D exerts anticancer effects by inhibiting cancer cell proliferation, inducing apoptosis and differentiation and potentiating chemo- or radiotherapy in various cancers [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Interestingly, experimental data also demonstrate that vitamin D regulates the tumor microenvironment, particularly cancer-associated fibroblast reprogramming, to facilitate tumor repression [ 20 , 22 ].…”