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Vitamin D destroyed by lung cancer cells

Updated: 2009-04-28 17:21:11 CST Category: Vitamin D Deficiency-Diagnosis and Treatment

by Laurent Castellucci

New research shows that lung cancer cells may actually destroy vitamin D in our bodies.

Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) have shown that lung cancer cells make an enzyme called CYP24 that neutralized the positive health benefits of vitamin D. They presented their findings at the 100th annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).

There is increasing evidence that high vitamin D levels in the blood help produce proteins that prevent and even have direct anti-tumor activity.

High levels of vitamin D have been linked to numerous health benefits, not limited to cancer. Most people obtain vitamin D from the sun, with a smaller amount coming from diet. There has been debate how much benefit comes from increasing vitamin D levels, although vitamin D deficiency is a known health risk.

Dr Lynne Eldridge, author and international speaker on cancer and nutrition, encouraged those with cancer to ask their oncologists about their vitamin D levels. "We are able to test for vitamin D levels in the body, and we have some ideas on how to increase those levels," she wrote on her blog.

The vitamin D test is a fairly simple one to administer, requiring a simple blood draw.

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