Vitamin D hope in prostate cancer (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

By Emma Wilkinson
BBC News health reporter



Vitamin D is an effective treatment for prostate cancer in some patients, a UK study suggests.

A once daily dose reduced PSA level - an indicator of severity of disease - by as much as half in 20% of patients.

There has been much interest in vitamin D in prostate cancer after studies linking risk of the disease to sunlight exposure, the researchers said.

One expert agreed the findings were encouraging but said it needed to be tested in a bigger population.

The trial - results of which are due to be published in the journal BJU International - was set up after one patient got better when his wife bought him some vitamin D tablets.
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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8017323.stm

[hedgehog]

1. Hey, I'm a nut on Vitamin D myself, but

"Out of 26 men with recurrent prostate cancer, who took a daily dose of vitamin D2 bought from the chemist, five responded to the treatment."


I encourage my sons to take Vitamin D to prevent prostate cancer, but I don't think it can be called a cure just yet, and I wouldn't stop getting exams as recommended.

[MADem]

2. Can't you get vitamin d for free from sitting out in the sun for ten minutes? nt

[emilyg]

3. Some peiople can't tolerate sun even

for a short time. Certain drugs make sun-sitting unbearable.

[DavidDvorkin]

4. The sun also causes skin cancer in light-skinned people

I'm one of those, and I've had quite a few cancerous growths removed already. Now I avoid the sun and take Vitamin D supplements.

There's also the question of amount. Unless you live near the equator, it's very hard to get sufficient Vitamin D from sunlight, most of the year.

[wuvuj]

5. Get the facts?

http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/