Lung cancer affects the lungs, two organs that are vital for inhaling oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide. Several factors, including smoking, exposure to secondhand smoke and a family history of lung cancer, increase the risk for lung cancer. Research suggests that increasing your intake of vitamin D might help combat lung cancer.
Identification
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that plays a role in several functions in the body, including absorption of calcium, immunity, insulin secretion and blood pressure regulation. In addition, vitamin D might also have beneficial effects on lung cancer. Vitamin D is found in foods, such as dairy products, salmon and green leafy vegetables, and can be synthesized in the skin from direct sunlight, according to the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University.
Anti-Cancer Activity
Scientists from the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute investigated the effects of human lung tumors on vitamin D levels in the body. In the report, which was presented at the 100th annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in April 2009, lead author Pamela Hershberger, Ph.D., and researchers discovered that human lung tumors make an enzyme called CYP24 that destroys vitamin D in the body. However, high levels of vitamin D triggered the body to produce anti-cancer proteins.
Survival Rate
Higher vitamin D intake might increase the survival rate in early stage non-small cell lung cancer, according to a study conducted by lead author, Wei Zhou and colleagues, of Harvard School of Public Health. They discovered that patients with the highest vitamin D intake improved their survival of early stage non-small cell lung cancer compared to those with the lowest vitamin D intakes. Scientists reported their findings in the February 2007 issue of the "Journal of Clinical Oncology."
Lowers Lung Cancer Risk in Women
Researchers from the National Public Health Institute studied the relationship between vitamin D status and the risk for lung cancer. At the end of the study, published in the July 2008 issue of the journal "Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention," lead investigator Annamari Kilkkinen and researchers found that women with the highest vitamin D intake lowered their risk of developing lung cancer compared to those with the lowest vitamin D intakes. Vitamin D status had no effect on lung cancer risk in men.
References
- Linus Pauling Institute: Vitamin D
- Science Daily: Human Lung Tumors Destroy Anti-Cancer Hormone Vitamin D
- PubMed.gov: Circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels predict survival in early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer patients
- Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention: Vitamin D Status and the Risk of Lung Cancer: A Cohort Study in Finland
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