Per Ministry of Health and Consumption, colon cancer is the deadliest malignancy in Spain, causing over twenty five,000 deaths annually. Though progress is made regularly in analysis and treatment, survival of patients with colorectal cancer are diagnosed in advanced stage of the disease has not improved significantly since several years. While it’s accepted that the most effective against cancer normally and in specific colorectal cancer is prevention, campaigns in this regard have failed so so much the required results.
Vitamin D has been traditionally associated with the regulation of bone biology and the prevention of rickets. However, varied recent studies support a protective result of vitamin D against numerous cancers, notably colon and prostate, breast and others. As Bert Vogelstein, a professor at the Faculty of Medication, Johns Hopkins researcher Universitad the Howard Hughes Medical Institute of Maryland (USA) and Prince of Asturias Prize said: “Studies on the relationship between vitamin D3 (active of vitamin D found within the body), bile acids and colorectal cancer have important implications for the prevention of colorectal cancer in the longer term”
Most epidemiological studies suggest that reduced concentrations of vitamin D in blood is associated with an increased risk for colorectal cancer, whereas those with concentrations in the best rank have lower risk. These results have motivated a great interest in finding out the action of vitamin D as a preventive agent against colorectal cancers.
The team of Prof. Alberto Munoz at the Institute for Biomedical Research”Alberto Sols” located on the campus of the School of Drugs of the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, joint center of this University and therefore the National Research Council investigates the action of calcitriol (vitamin D3) in human cells of colon cancer. In collaboration with the cluster led by Dr. Felix Bonilla at the Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro move to human samples, taken from tumors taken from cancer patients, noting the current ethics rules, results in vitro in cell cultures and in experimental animals in order to elucidate the mechanisms and potentialities for use of calcitriol and vitamin D in preventing and perhaps treating this malignancy.
Today it is accepted that one amongst the initial and basic alterations within the overwhelming majority of colorectal cancers is abnormal activation of a molecular signaling pathway called Wnt / beta-catenin. This occurs because the mutation of 1 of 3 genes: APC, or Axin CTTNB1/beta-catenina. The newest finding made by the group led by Alberto Muñoz printed within the journal Carcinogenesis shows that calcitriol will increase the expression of a gene referred to as Dickkopf- one(DKK- 1). This gene could be a natural inhibitor of the Wnt pathway / beta-catenin, and since this acts as an engine that initiates and promotes tumor progression, induction of DKK- one could be relevant to its antitumor action. The authors have conjointly shown a relationship between the expression of DKK- 1 receptor and vitamin D in human colorectal tumors, and any, that DKK- one has tumor suppressor activities additionally to inhibition via Wnt / beta-catenin.
These findings facilitate explain the molecular mechanisms of action of vitamin D, and support its role within the prevention of human colon cancer and therefore the importance of maintaining adequate levels of vitamin multifunctional body.
This work was funded by the MEC (COLOMICS Consortium, S-GEN-0266-2006), along with other agencies such as the MAC, MSC, EU…). Find more other useful info about prostrate cancer treatment, alternative breast cancer treatment and treatments for lung cancer
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