doi:10.1155/2010/721365 Review Article Role of Vitamin D in the Prevention of Pancreatic Cancer

Copyright © 2010 Pubudu Bulathsinghala et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative CommonsAttribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 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. 1