Role of Vitamin D in Breast Cancer

Back ground: The onset and progression of breast cancer is multifactorial andnot fully defined. During the past decade, the anticancer effects of 1,25(OH)2D3 and especially of the vitamin D analogue EB1089 have been welldocumented in vitro and in vivo . Exposing the breast cancer cell line MCF-7 to1,25(OH)2D3 or EB1089 elevates expression of the cell cycle restricting genep21, promotes dephosphosphorylated form of the retinoblastoma protein andkeeps the cell in the G0-G1 stage of the cell cycle. In addition, It is wellestablished that 1a,25(OH)2D3 (1,25D3), the active metabolite of vitaminD,plays a essential role in negatively affecting breast cancer cells by inhibiting cellproliferation, curtailing invasiveness, inducing apoptosis and potentiatingdifferentiation .Methods and Result: Based on this scientific fact we searched in pub med andOvid database and by focusing on available full text articles we found morethan 10 papers which show role of vitamin D in protection of breast cancer.Also more than 10 case control and follow up study that demonstrated vitaminD effectiveness in risk reduction of Breast cancer incidence and death. Even arandomized controlled trial performed (RCT) by Lappe et al. Conclusively weexpounded on a meta-analysis that performed by Mohr et al. demonstrate adose-response gradient with higher levels of serum 25(OH)D resulting in anonlinear decrease in risk.Conclusion: A recent survey on world-wide vitamin D intake clearly indicatesthat in many countries vitamin D supply from nutrient sources is too low tosustain mean 25-(OH)D levels in the general population between 40-100 nM,which are considered sufficiently high to achieve a better health outcome.Considering the effectiveness and cost of this using vitamin D as a supplementwill be helpful in our country and we suggest to conducting a randomisedclinical trial to clarify its benefit in relation to breast cancer.