A Canadian study is the latest to identify a mechanism by which vitamin D plays a role in cancer risk reduction.

“Now, a team of McGill University researchers led by professors John White and David Goltzman has discovered a molecular basis for the potential cancer preventive effects of Vitamin D. The study suggests that the Vitamin D receptor is a ‘master regulator’ in a network implicated in cancer cell growth,” The Ottawa Citizen reported this week. “The team found that Vitamin D slows the progression of cells from precancerous to malignant states, said White, a researcher at the department of physiology at McGill whose laboratory has been studying the anti-cancer actions of Vitamin D for more than a decade. In 2001, White’s lab showed that Vitamin D curbs malignant cells, including those involved in breast and prostate cancers.”

The Citizen story asked White about the findings.

“We showed that if you put Vitamin D on certain cancer cells, they would stop proliferating, they would stop going through the process of cell division, or they would do it much more slowly,” said White in the story.

According to the Citizen article, the current study, published in this month’s edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provides a piece of the puzzle on how the active form of Vitamin D does what it does, White explained.

To read the Citizen article click here.

SmartTan.com news articles regularly report medical and scientific information to keep you abreast of current events related to UV light. This information is not intended to be used by any party to make unwarranted health claims to promote sunbed usage. Indoor tanning businesses are obligated to communicate a fair and balanced message to all clients about your products and services including the potential risks associated with indoor tanning. Contact your Smart Tan representative to find out more about what you can and can’t say in your tanning salon business.

© 2012 International Smart Tan Network. All rights reserved.