BENEFITS OF UVB EXPOSURE TO REDUCE THE RISK OF CANCER - ECOLOGIC STUDIES OF CANCER MORTALITY RATES

摘要

A number of ecologic, case-control, cohort, clinical, laboratory, and animal studies have supplied strong evidence that vitamin D is an important risk reduction factor for many forms of internal cancers. The evidence is strongest for breast, colon, ovarian, and prostate cancer, primarily since these are among the most common types of cancer. However, recent ecologic studies of cancer mortality rates in the U.S. have extended the list of cancers for which solar ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation, through the production of vitamin D, reduces the risk, to a total of 18 types of cancer. This paper will review some of the evidence and present an overview of the latest ecologic study results.