|
E-mail this page to a friend!
Senior Citizen Health & Medicine
Researchers That Found Sunlight Lowers Breast Cancer
Risk Say It Also Decreases Spread
Sunlight's vitamin D may lower advanced breast cancer
by half
 Oct. 22, 2007 Researchers, who earlier found that
women who received the most frequent sun exposure had a lower risk of
developing breast cancer, have now determined that increased exposure to
sunlight which increases levels of vitamin D in the body - also
decreases the risk of advanced breast cancer.
| |
Related Stories |
|
| |
Targeting Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer Can Save
Needless Suffering
HER-2 status predicts success of chemotherapy in
breast cancer treatment, study finds
Oct. 11, 2007
Aromatase Inhibitors Lead in Improved Survival with
Metastatic Breast Cancer
Aromatase inhibitors help block tumor growth by
lowering estrogen
July 23, 2007
Researchers Alarmed by Declining Mammography Use
Among Older Women
Years of increased use was followed by decline in
breast cancer mortality
May 14, 2007
Genetic Breast Cancer Assessment Eases Stress for
Women at Risk
Demand leads to opening of genetic cancer clinics
April 18, 2007
Shutting Down Genetic Gang of 4 Slows Spread of
Breast Cancer Almost to Halt
Silencing quartet nearly completely
stopped
tumor growth, spread
April 11, 2007
Computer-Aided Detection Reduces the Accuracy of
Mammograms
Women screened by CAD devices more likely to
undergo a biopsy
April 5, 2007
Women Found with Cancer in One Breast Should Use MRI
to Screen the Other
Other testing missed cancers found by magnetic
resonance imaging
March 28, 2007
Aromatase Inhibitor Hormone Drugs Make Survival
Difference in Advanced Breast Cancer
Review of studies of 10,000 older women say it
is better for patients
January 30, 2007
Ability of Breast Cancer to Spread Detected by Two
Protein Biomarkers
88% accurate in identifying breast cancer spread
in a study group
December 15, 2006
Decline in
Breast Cancer Likely Linked to Reduced
Use of Hormone Replacement
Since based on
population statistics, researchers not certain why the decline
December 15, 2006
Reduced Risk of Breast Cancer Noted in Older Women
with Higher Physical Activity
Physical activity reduces body fat, the major
source of estrogen in postmenopausal women
December 12, 2006
Breast Cancer Patients Seeking Second Opinion
Usually Receive Treatment Changes
Multidisciplinary tumor board leads to
different interpretations
November 29, 2006
Read the latest news on Senior
Health & Medicine |
|
The researchers say that women with high sun
exposure had half the risk of developing advanced breast cancer, which
is cancer that has spread beyond the breast, compared to women with low
sun exposure.
These findings were observed only for women with
naturally light skin color. The study defined high sun exposure as
having dark skin on the forehead, an area that is usually exposed to
sunlight.
The scientists used a portable reflectometer to
measure skin color on the underarm, an area that is usually not directly
exposed to sunlight. Based on these measurements, they classified the
women as having light, medium or dark natural skin color.
Researchers then compared sun exposure between
women with breast cancer and those without breast cancer. Sun exposure
was measured as the difference in skin color between the underarm and
the forehead.
In women with naturally light skin pigmentation,
the group without breast cancer had significantly more sun exposure than
the group with breast cancer. The fact that this difference occurred
only in one group suggests that the effect was due to differences in
vitamin D production and wasnt just because the women were sick and
unable to go outdoors.
In addition, the effect held true regardless of
whether the cancer was diagnosed in the summer or in the winter. The
difference was seen only in women with advanced disease, suggesting that
vitamin D may be important in slowing the growth of breast cancer cells.
We believe that sunlight helps to reduce womens
risk of breast cancer because the body manufactures the active form of
vitamin D from exposure to sunlight, said Esther John, Ph.D., lead
researcher on the study from the Northern California Cancer Center.
It is possible that these effects were observed
only among light- skinned women because sun exposure produces less
vitamin D among women with naturally darker pigmentation.
The study by a research team from the Northern
California Cancer Center, the University of Southern California, and
Wake Forest University School of Medicine is reported online this week
in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
These new findings about breast cancer risk and sun
exposure based on skin color measurements are consistent with the
previous research by John and colleagues that had shown that women who
reported frequent sun exposure had a lower risk of developing breast
cancer than women with infrequent sun exposure.
The researchers stressed that sunlight is not the
only source of vitamin D, which can be obtained from multivitamins,
fatty fish and fortified foods such as milk, certain cereals and fruit
juices. Women should not try to reduce their risk of breast cancer by
sunbathing because of the risks of sun-induced skin cancer, they said.
If future studies continue to show reductions in
breast cancer risk associated with sun exposure, increasing vitamin D
intake from diet and supplements may be the safest solution to achieve
adequate levels of vitamin D, said Gary Schwartz, Ph.D., a
co-researcher from the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Wake Forest
University School of Medicine.
Since many risk factors for breast cancer are not
modifiable, our finding that a modifiable factor, vitamin D, may reduce
risk is important, said Sue Ingles, Ph.D., a co-researcher from
University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine.
The researchers compared 1,788 breast cancer
patients in the San Francisco Bay area with a matched control group of
2,129 women who did not have breast cancer. They included non-Hispanic
white, Hispanic and African-American women, thus women with a wide range
of natural skin color and a wide range of capacity to produce vitamin D
in the body.
Skin color is an important factor that determines
how much vitamin D is produced in the body after sun exposure.
Dark-skinned individuals produce up to 10 times less vitamin D than
light-skinned individuals for the same amount of time spent in the sun.
People with darker skin are also more likely to be vitamin D deficient
than people with lighter skin.
Editors Notes:
The research team also included Wei Wang, Ph.D.,
of the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. The
work was supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute and U.S.
Department of Defense Medical Research Program.
The Northern California Cancer Center (www.nccc.org)
is an established, nationally recognized leader dedicated to
understanding the causes and prevention of cancer and to improve the
quality of life for individuals living with cancer. NCCC has been
working with scientists, educators, patients, clinicians, and community
leaders successfully since 1974, and is an active partner with Stanford
Universitys Comprehensive Cancer Center. NCCC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit
with over 170 employees and a $15 million operating budget.
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is
an academic health system comprised of North Carolina Baptist Hospital
and Wake Forest University Health Sciences, which operates the
universitys School of Medicine. U.S. News & World Report ranks Wake
Forest University School of Medicine 18th in primary care and 44th in
research among the nation's medical schools. It ranks 35th in research
funding by the National Institutes of Health. Almost 150 members of the
medical school faculty are listed in Best Doctors in America.
The USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center,
located in Los Angeles, is a major regional and national resource for
cancer research, treatment, prevention and education. Nearly 200 basic
scientists, physicians and other Keck School of Medicine of USC faculty
members who are members of the USC/Norris Cancer Center investigate the
complex origins and progression of cancer, develop prevention strategies
and search for cures. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has designated
the USC/Norris Cancer Center as one of the nation's 39 comprehensive
cancer centers, a select group of institutions providing leadership in
cancer treatment, research, prevention and education.
Click to More Senior News on the
Front Page
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com |
