Immune Modulation by Vitamin D: Special Emphasis on Its Role in Prevention and Treatment of Cancer

PurposeVitamin D has been known to be involved in mineral and bone homeostasis for many years. In the past its main use was in treating osteoporosis and rickets. In recent years it was found that vitamin D is an immune-modulating agent and may also have a role in several diseases, including autoimmune diseases. The immune-modulating effects appear to be mediated by vitamin D interaction with the vitamin D receptor (VDR) that has transcriptional effects and is expressed on various cell types, especially those of the immune system. Immunologic and rheumatologic diseases were the first to be studied, but at the moment the spotlight is on the interactions between tumor cells and vitamin D. This review focuses on four forms of cancer that apparently benefit from a vitamin D supplementation during treatment: prostate, breast, and colorectal cancers and melanoma. Several studies reported that differences exist between white and black patients, which we discuss in the review.MethodsWe systematically searched PubMed for studies published in English. The search terms included vitamin D, cancer, breast, colorectal, prostate, and melanoma.Findings and implicationsOur findings show that vitamin D has the potential to become a valid coadjuvant in the treatment of cancer.