Vitamin D deficiency at melanoma diagnosis is associated with higher Breslow thickness.

Background: Epidemiological evidence shows that people with thicker, or higher stage, melanomas have lower vitamin D status compared to those with thinner tumours. Evidence from experimental studies is inconsistent, but some suggest that administration of vitamin D metabolites can decrease tumour aggressiveness.

Objectives: Determine the relationship between vitamin D status at diagnosis and melanoma thickness (as an indicator of prognosis), in a subtropical setting with high melanoma incidence.

Comparing the effects of sun exposure and vitamin D supplementation on vitamin D insufficiency, and immune and cardio-metabolic function: the Sun Exposure and Vitamin D Supplementation (SEDS) Study.

Background: Adults living in the sunny Australian climate are at high risk of skin cancer, but vitamin D deficiency (defined here as a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration of less than 50 nmol/L) is also common. Vitamin D deficiency may be a risk factor for a range of diseases. However, the optimal strategies to achieve and maintain vitamin D adequacy (sun exposure, vitamin D supplementation or both), and whether sun exposure itself has benefits over and above initiating synthesis of vitamin D, remain unclear.

Skin cancer and vitamin D: an update.

Exposure of the skin to solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation has both risks and benefits for human health. Absorption of UV-B radiation by DNA results in mutations that underlie the development of skin cancers, as is apparent from genetic studies showing high occurrence of UV signature mutations within these tumors. UV-B radiation is also absorbed by 7-dehydrocholesterol to initiate vitamin D synthesis.