Vitamin D could cut pancreatic cancer risk by nearly half

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

People who consume the recommended daily amount of vitamin D have a reduced risk of pancreatic cancer.
Pancreatic cancer is a hard-to-treat disease which is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the USA. Other than smoking, there are no known risk factors for pancreatic cancers. So it is fascinating to learn from a new study from Northwestern and Harvard universities that vitamin D may protect against the disease.

The researchers looked at data on 46,771 men from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study and on 75,427 women from the Nurses Health Study. Both projects are well respected for the information they have already given on the influence of lifestyle factors, including diet, on health. This new study revealed that those who consumed the US Recommended Daily Allowance of 400 IU a day of vitamin D had a 43 per cent reduced risk of pancreatic cancer compared to those consuming less. But a higher intake did not provide any further protection. No link was found between calcium or retinol (vitamin A) intake and pancreatic cancer. What needs to be determined now is what the best source of vitamin D is when it comes to protecting from pancreatic cancer - diet, supplements or more exposure to sunlight.

Source
Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention