Vitamin D, A Promising Cancer Treatment?

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Although not widely realized other than by medical scientists, vitamin D is both a vitamin and a hormone. One of its properties is to regulate the amount of calcium in the blood. It also promotes the development of new cells, and the normal process of cell death which is followed by new cell creation. Tumor cells, meanwhile, do not develop into specified activities within the body* nor do they undergo the normal death and new life process of cells**.

IMAGINE CANCER CELLS TURNING INTO "NORMAL" CELLS! Like other normal cells, they would have a specified life term whereas as tumor cells they are immortal. Vitamin D can do that! Oh--but there is a problem. The amount of vitamin D to be used as treatment would be toxic. It has now been found (reported in the Journal of Nutrition) that a low toxicity drug, ibandronate, reduces the potential for harm of excessive vitamin D. Ibandronate is a newer drug used for osteoporosis, and one with minor side effects.

*Called differentiation.
**Programmed cell death.

Vitamin D, A Promising Cancer Treatment? Bibliography

The scientists reporting the effect of ibandronate on vitamin D toxicity were Drs. Paul A. Price, Jessica R. Buckley and Matthew K. Williamson, Div. of Biology, U. of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0368.