The Role of Vitamin D in Cancer Prevention

摘要

BackgroundVitamin D is essential for life. Part of the body´s supply of vitamin D is ingested in food, but UV induced vitamin D synthesis in the body plays an even more important role. UV irradiation is a cause for the currently rising incidence of skin cancer in many countries; on the other hand, Vitamin D might be protective against some cancers. In this paper we summarize the current data on vitamin D and cancer and on the vitamin D status of populations in Europe and discuss whether current recommendations on UV protection require changes.