- Researchers say high levels of vitamin D can bolster anti-cancer immunology treatments.
- They say vitamin D’s effectiveness comes from its ability to strengthen the immune system, as well as some other effects that can help stop cancer cells proliferating.
- Experts note that vitamin D has a number of health benefits, including improving bone health.
People with melanoma may respond better to immunotherapy treatment if their vitamin D levels are within a healthy range.
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“Of course, vitamin D is not itself an anti-cancer drug, but its normal serum level is needed for the proper functioning of the immune system, including the response that anti-cancer drugs like immune checkpoint inhibitors affect,” Dr. Lukasz Galus, the lead author of the study and a researcher at Poznan University of Medical Sciences in Poland, said in a press release.
“In our opinion, after appropriately randomized confirmation of our results, the assessment of vitamin D levels and its supplementation could be considered in the management of melanoma,” he added.
Galus and his colleagues analyzed the blood from 200 people who had advanced melanoma during immunotherapy treatment.
“We have known for over 100 years that the immune system plays a large role in the control of cancers, and malignant melanoma in particular. There is a delicate interplay between immune cells (known as T cells) and healthy cells in the body. Immune checkpoints are a normal part of the immune system, designed to prevent immune cells from harming healthy cells. Immune checkpoint inhibitors block these checkpoints, allowing the T cells to maintain an activated state — these activated cells kill cancer cells,” Dr. Gary Doolittle, a medical oncologist with The…
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