Some data suggest an association between vitamin D deficiency and cancer, the direction of the association may depend upon the serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) concentration. The current evidence is insufficient to support large-dose vitamin D supplementation for cancer prevention or treatment. In the 1930s and 1940s, it was observed that people living at higher latitudes were at higher risk of cancer.
Subsequently, living at a higher latitude was linked to ultraviolet B (UVB) exposure, and this observation introduced the possible link with vitamin D status. There is now a very extensive literature on vitamin D, cell proliferation, and cancer. In vitro studies have shown that the active hormone or its analogs can decrease cell proliferation, and a very large number of genes are coherently activated or inactivated to generate this effect In animal studies, deficiency of the vitamin D…
