Pancreatic cancer control: is vitamin D the answer?

Pancreatic cancer is characterized by late detection, resistance to therapy, poor prognosis, and an exceptionally high mortality rate. Epidemiology ascribes a chemopreventive role to vitamin D in several cancers including pancreatic cancer. Vitamin D therapy has been ascribed a role previously in tumor inhibition and differentiation in addition to reduction of inflammation and angiogenesis. However, the role of vitamin D in pancreatic cancer prevention or therapy remains elusive to date. Studies have shown a negative correlation between the risk of pancreatic cancer and serum vitamin D levels. It is believed that vitamin D binding to certain conserved sequences called vitamin D response elements in the DNA can alter the expression of genes involved in tumorigenesis. Recent research has elucidated the role of zinc in carcinogenesis, which in turn is found to be affected by vitamin D supplementation. In the light of numerous new-found roles for vitamin D, we review and evaluate the potential actions of the sunshine vitamin with respect to pancreatic cancer prevention and therapy.