Sunlight exposure and vitamin D may reduce the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. - GreenMedInfo Summary
Vitamin D and non-Hodgkin lymphoma risk in adults: a review.
Cancer Invest. 2009 Nov;27(9):942-51. PMID: 19832043
Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14642, USA. [email protected]
Animal and human studies support a protective effect of vitamin D sufficiency related to malignancy by uncovering paracrine and autocrine effects of extra-renal 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) activation including regulation of cell cycle proliferation, apoptosis induction, and increased cell differentiation signaling. Recent epidemiologic studies demonstrate a reduction in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) risk with increased sunlight exposure. As sunlight is a major vitamin D source, it has been suggested that vitamin D status may mediate this observed association. This review provides a comprehensive discussion of the current epidemiologic evidence with regard to the investigation of an association between vitamin D status and NHL risk.