US Pharm. 2014;39(11):HS2.
Denver, CO—Compelling evidence has been found that inflammation may be the link between vitamin D and prostate cancer. A recent University of Colorado Cancer Center study that investigated which genes vitamin D turns on or off in prostate cancer found that gene GDF-15, which is known to be upregulated by vitamin D, is absent in samples of human prostate cancer driven by inflammation. In a sophisticated computer algorithm analysis of immunohistochemical data, researchers were able to quantify expression of GDF-15 protein and inflammatory cells. GDF-15 was uniformly low in tissue samples containing inflammation. Researchers believe that these findings will lead to identification of new targets for treatment of prostate and other cancers.
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