Vitamin D Has Potential to Prevent Pancreatic Cancer

According to a study led by Halcyon Skinner, Ph.D., of Northwestern University with colleagues from Harvard University, revealed that consumption of Vitamin D tablets cuts the risk of pancreatic cancer by nearly half.

One of the first known studies to use a large-scale epidemiological survey to examine the relationship between Vitamin D and pancreatic cancer, the results suggest that the nutrient has a potential in preventing the disease.

In the study, analysis and examination of data two large, long-term health surveys resulted to the following:

According to Dr. Halcyon Skinner:

“Vitamin D has shown strong potential for preventing and treating prostate cancer, and areas with greater sunlight exposure have lower incidence and mortality for prostate, breast, and colon cancers, leading us to investigate a role for Vitamin D in pancreatic cancer risk.

Few studies have examined this association, and we did observe a reduced risk for pancreatic cancer with higher intake of Vitamin D.”

Pancreatic cancer, a rapidly fatal disease, is the fourth-leading cause of death from cancer in the United States alone. Currently, it has no known cure, and surgical treatments are not often effective.

Except for cigarette smoking, no environmental factors or dietary practices have been linked to this disease.

Results of this new study appear in the September issue of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention.

Read more details from the American Association for Cancer Research.