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Science Forum Index » Medicine - Cancer Forum » February 2007 monthly follow up: "Is melanoma simply a Vitam
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| James Semmel |
 Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2007 11:46 am |
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TO: All melanoma researchers, doctors, and patients.
A recent story from the Pacific Northwest about a 58-year-old sufferer
contained the following, telling passage: "In June, they removed a
melanoma from his back," said his wife, adding that in August a scan
showed no cancer. When symptoms reappeared in the fall, "it started
turning the other way," she said. On December 20, they learned cancer
had spread extensively.
So, the melanoma appeared in June--after the long season of overcast
weather. In August--after the sunny summer--the scan showed no
cancer. The symptoms didn't reappear until the fall--when the weather
had again turned cloudy. From there, he went downhill--as the sun
went lower in the sky and the rainy weather intensified. Especially
considering the melanoma appeared in a shaded region, was the culprit
therefore a lack of Vitamin D?
After all, in 1981 a group of Stanford researchers found that Vitamin
D3 inhibits the growth of human melanoma cells in vitro, so it seems
reasonable that it would do so right at the point of generation in the
skin.
James Semmel
Albuquerque, New Mexico
reference:
http://www.mpip.org/bb/shtml/369415.shtml
Last month's follow up to the 4th annual discussion: "Is melanoma
simply a Vitamin D deficiency cancer?" |
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| James Semmel |
| Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2007 11:28 am |
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| Roman Bystrianyk |
| Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2007 8:07 pm |
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On Feb 8, 10:28 am, "James Semmel" <feetb...@shoebusters.com> wrote:
Quote: No takers this month?
This may be of interest. Enjoy your day.
Roman
Roman Bystrianyk, "Sun Exposure Increases Survival from Melanoma",
Health Sentinel, March 8, 2005,
According to the Mayo Clinic, skin cancer is the most common cancer in
the United States. The incidence of skin cancers has been increasing
for the last 50 years in all developed countries. Mortality from skin
cancers has also been increasing, although not as greatly as the
incidence. All forms of skin cancer have been on the rise. More benign
forms include basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas. However, the
greatest rise has been in melanoma, which is the most serious and most
deadly type of skin cancer. The percentage of people with melanoma has
more than doubled over the last 30 years.
Because of the consistent findings that intermittent sun exposure is
associated with an increased risk for melanoma, public health
officials have recommended that excessive sun exposure should be
avoided. Recommendations generally include avoiding sun exposure and
use of sunscreens throughout the year.
A recent study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute
contradicts this advice. The study looked at 528 melanoma patients who
were entered in the Connecticut Tumor Registry. They examined a number
of factors to determine the risks related to death from melanoma.
They found that sunburn, high intermittent sun exposure, solar
elastosis, which is a marker of sun damage, and self-reported skin
awareness were all linked to improved survival from melanoma. "Sun
exposure was statistically significantly inversely associated with
risk of death from melanoma, regardless of the measure used.
Individuals who has ever been severely burned or who has high levels
of intermittent sun exposure were less likely to die from melanoma
than individuals who had never been severely sunburned or who had low
levels of intermittent sun exposure respectively."
The authors also found that, "recent sunscreen use nor childhood
sunscreen use were statistically associated with the risk of death
from melanoma." They did find that individuals who paid attention to
their skin have a lower risk of death from melanoma, however,
"reported skin self-examination and physician skin examination were
not significantly associated with the risk of death from melanoma."
Attempting to explain their findings the authors note that sun
exposure is essential for the skin to make vitamin D3. Vitamin D has
been shown to be anticancer in nature and therefore could explain the
beneficial association between sun exposure and survival from
melanoma. Another possibility put forward is that sun exposure induces
less aggressive melanoma by increasing the DNA repair capacity and
thus reducing further more deadly changes in melanoma.
The authors conclude that, "we found that intermittent sun exposure
may increase survival from melanoma. If these results are confirmed,
our findings have the potential to lead to interventions, such as
stimulation of the vitamin D pathway or DNA repair capacity, that
would increase survival from melanoma and, perhaps, from other
cancers."
SOURCE: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, February 2, 2005 |
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