A new study investigates vitamin D’s effect on the gut microbiome and its potential to help cancer immunotherapy work better.
- Over the past few years, researchers have
focused on using vitamin D to prevent and treat different cancers.
- Previous research has looked at using vitamin D
in conjunction with cancer immunotherapy.
- Researchers from The University of Manchester
have found that vitamin D helps balance the gut microbiome, improving the
way cancer immunotherapy treatments work via a mouse model.
Over the past few years, several studies have focused
on using vitamin D to prevent
and treat different types of cancers, including prostate, skin, breast, and bowel cancers.
Previous research has also linked high vitamin D
levels to a decreased risk of
developing cancer and a reduced cancer mortality rate.
Scientists have also
Now researchers from the Cancer Research UK Manchester
Institute at The University of Manchester in the U.K. have found that vitamin D
helps balance the gut microbiome, improving the way cancer
immunotherapy treatments work, via a mouse model.
The study was recently published in the journal Science.
Using
immunotherapy to fight cancer
Immunotherapy is a type
of treatment that uses the body’s immune system to help improve its ability to
fight cancer.
Different types of immunotherapy treatments include
Over the years, the U.S. FDA has
“Immunotherapy reinvigorates the body’s immune system
to attack cancer cells,” Evangelos Giampazolias, PhD,
group leader of the Cancer Immunosurveillance Group at the Cancer Research UK
Manchester Institute, the University of Manchester and lead author of this
study, explained to Medical News Today.
“Immunotherapy has revolutionized the treatment of one
of the deadliest forms of cancer,
“However, not all patients respond equally well to
this therapy, and only a small group experience long-lasting (benefits),”
Giampazolias continued. “Therefore, understanding when and how our immune
system identifies malignant cells as a threat is critical for designing
therapies that boost its ability to eliminate cancer,” he added.
How does
vitamin D affect gut health and cancer treatment?
Giampazolias said that
he and his colleagues were intrigued by the fact that the cancer-protective
role of vitamin D was absent in mice treated with antibiotics or raised in
sterile environments without any living microorganisms.
“Based on these (findings)
we hypothesized that vitamin D promotes cancer immunity by influencing the
communities of ‘friendly’ microorganisms that live inside the animals, known as
(the) microbiome.
We found that vitamin D
affects the cells lining the intestine, causing an increase in the levels of a
bacteria called
According to
Giampazolias, Bacteroides
fragilis is a member of a larger community of microorganisms
inhabiting the intestines of mice and humans.
“To determine if the bacteria alone could improve
immunity to cancer, mice on a diet containing standard levels of vitamin D were
given Bacteroides
fragilis,” Giampazolias said. “These mice showed improved ability to
resist tumor growth. However, this effect was not observed when the mice were
given (a) diet deficient in vitamin D.”
“It is still unclear how Bacteroides fragilis (promotes) anti-cancer
immunity but overall, our findings highlight an unprecedented link between
vitamin D and gut microbiome that influences immune responses to cancer in
mice,” he continued. “Further work is warranted to confirm a possible link
between vitamin D and cancer immunity in humans.”
Potential
new avenues for improving cancer treatment
After reviewing this
study, Anton Bilchik, MD, PhD,
surgical oncologist, chief of medicine, and director of the Gastrointestinal
and Hepatobiliary Program at Providence Saint John’s Cancer Institute in Santa
Monica, CA, told MNT this is a very important study because while
doctors have known that vitamin D is important in preventing cancers, the
mechanism has been unclear.
Bilchik noted:
“This is one of the first
studies to suggest that vitamin D influences a bacteria within our body
Bacteroides, which then influences the immune system to reduce the chance of
getting cancer. But even more important, demonstrates that immunotherapy is
likely to be more effective in the presence of vitamin D. So these are
completely novel mechanisms that have been described.”
MNT also
spoke with Shama Farooq, MD, MBBS, a
neuro-oncologist at Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute at Jersey Shore
University Medical Center and assistant professor in the Department of
Neurology at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine in New Jersey.
Farooq said these findings suggest a potential link
between vitamin D levels, the microbiome, and cancer immunity, offering
potential new avenues for improving cancer treatment and prevention strategies:
“Continued research into enhancing the body’s immunity
and optimizing immunotherapy is crucial because cancer is a complex disease
with diverse mechanisms of evasion. By exploring new ways to boost the immune
system’s ability to recognize and destroy cancer cells, researchers can develop
more effective and targeted treatments, ultimately improving patient outcomes
and survival rates.”
How much
vitamin D is needed to help lower cancer risk?
Based on this research,
readers may wonder if they should make sure their vitamin D levels are correct
to help potentially lower their cancer risk.
Bilchik said it’s important for vitamin D levels to be
within the normal range, not only for perhaps the prevention of cancer but also
because it plays a very important role in bone density,
reduction in
“Vitamin D plays many important roles and despite the
fact that vitamin D is easily available through plants, meat, (and the) sun,
it’s surprising how many people are vitamin D deficient,” he added.
According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health,
levels of
“Based on this study, readers should consider ensuring
their vitamin D levels are adequate as part of a comprehensive approach to
potentially lowering their risk of cancer,” Farooq said. “While more research
is needed to fully understand the relationship, maintaining optimal levels of
vitamin D is generally beneficial for overall health and may contribute to
reducing cancer risk.”
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