Role of vitamin D in the prevention of pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is a malignancy of poor prognosis which is mostly diagnosed at advanced stages. current treatment modalities are very limited creating great interest for novel preventive and therapeutic options. vitamin d seems to have a protective effect against pancreatic cancer by participating in numerous proapoptotic,antiangiogenic,anti-inflammatory,prodifferentiating,and immunomodulating mechanisms. 25-hydroxyvitamin d [25(oh)d] serum concentrations are currently the best indicator of vitamin d status. there are three main sources of vitamin d: sun exposure,diet,and dietary supplements. sun exposure has been associated with lower incidence of pancreatic cancer in ecological studies. increased vitamin d levels seem to protect against pancreatic cancer,but caution is needed as excessive dietary intake may have opposite results. future studies will verify the role of vitamin d in the prevention and therapy of pancreatic cancer and will lead to guidelines on adequate sun exposure and vitamin d dietary intake. © 2010 pubudu bulathsinghala et al.