April 2007: Is Melanoma a Vitamin D Deficiency Cancer? Posted: 04-17-07 11:12am
TO: All melanoma researchers, doctors, and
patients.
Last month's post recalled three landmark
studies from the 1980's that found the
1,25D hormone is made in the skin and
inhibits both the growth of melanoma and
the growth of skin; this active form of
vitamin D is produced from the circulating
precursor 25D produced in the liver from
the inactive vitamin D, cholecalciferol,
photosynthesized in the skin.
So, sending more vitamin D (25D) to the
skin would inhibit skin cell growth, which
would reduce the synthesis of more vitamin
D (cholecalciferol). A vitamin D (25D)
deficiency in an internal tissue, say
breast or prostate, would not benefit the
body like it would in the skin, which is
the body's chief provider of vitamin D
(cholecalciferol). In the skin, a vitamin
D (25D) deficiency has a chance at
producing more vitamin D
(cholecalciferol), via the increased skin
cell production, but it carries the risk
of melanoma, which the 1981 study observed
grows uncontrollably without that vitamin
D (1,25D from circulating 25D).
The exact site of melanoma therefore
depends both on sun exposure and on
circulation, because the spots with
weakest blood flow in the regions
contributing least to D3
production--whether from too little
sunlight (pale skin) or too much sunlight
(tan skin)--will thus become deficient
first.
