Life Over Cancer Blog

Vitamin D and Cancer

An exploration of some of the ways vitamin D may support the prevention and treatment of prostate cancer and other cancers

By Keith I. Block, MD

Some of you may have noticed that this posting was briefly removed from ourblog this morning.  We realized we'd made an error in the way we described the Vitamin D and Taxotere study.  That information has since been corrected.  We apologize for any inconvenience.

Vitamin D is widely known as a bone-building nutrient, mainly because of its ability to enhance the absorption of calcium and bolster overall bone integrity.  But the biological benefits of vitamin D extend far beyond the bone.  Recent research suggests that the so-called “sunshine vitamin” may play a role in helping combat cancer, depression, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, multiple sclerosis, muscle weakness, and osteoarthritis.  For most of these D-disease links, however, the data are still rather weak and additional research is needed.

The cancer connection arose initially from the observation that populations in northern latitudes experienced more bone thinning with age and also had higher rates of various cancers.  People in colder climates spend more time indoors and therefore get less sunshine – the essential stimulus for vitamin D production in the skin (most cases of vitamin D deficiency are, in essence, a sunshine deficiency).  Eventually, laboratory studies found that high-dose vitamin D helped block the growth of cancers of the breast, colon, rectum, prostate, lung and head/neck region, as well as lymphoma, leukemia and multiple myeloma.

The Great Debate: Using Antioxidants During Chemotherapy

By Keith I. Block, MD

Last week’s blog discussed how two randomized controlled trials involving smokers helped fuel a years-old misperception that beta carotene is harmful to all cancer patients.  As I noted in that posting, this erroneous assumption generally paints all antioxidants with the same “don’t-use” brush, understandably prompting great concern among cancer patients.  This week’s blog will address the use of antioxidants for cancer patients, and hopefully, help alleviate those concerns.

Let’s start with how some of this erroneous information took hold and became the primary message from mainstream media.

Beta-Carotene and Lung Cancer: The Story Behind the Story

Written by Keith I Block, MD

Most of you are likely familiar with the concept of antioxidants.  Essentially, antioxidants help neutralize free radicals—those highly unstable and reactive molecules that are generated by many factors, including everyday metabolism and immune system activity against bacteria and viruses, as well as by exercise, dietary fats, pollutants, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and inflammation.  When you have too many free radicals and too few antioxidants in your system, you have what’s called oxidative stress.  Research has shown that cancer thrives under conditions of persistent oxidative stress, which helps explain why antioxidant-rich diets appear to help stymie the development of cancer.

What you may not know, however, is that antioxidants, like all molecules, have varying levels of stability in terms of their antioxidant power.  Those that are less stable, or more labile, will function as antioxidants under certain conditions.  However, under other conditions, they can actually become oxidants – that is, generators of free radical damage.