Vitamin D and breast cancer: inhibition of estrogen synthesis and signaling.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review summarizing preclinical and mechanistic findings without human data.
PubMed 20156557 · doi:10.1016/j.jsbmb.2010.02.009
What was done
This narrative review outlines preclinical experimental models investigating the mechanisms by which calcitriol (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3) modulates growth, differentiation, inflammation, and hormone signaling in breast cancer cells and surrounding breast adipose tissue.
What was found
The abstract reports mechanistic pathways and provides no quantitative data. Calcitriol induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, inhibits invasion and angiogenesis, downregulates estrogen receptor alpha, suppresses COX-2, upregulates 15-PGDH to decrease prostaglandin levels, and inhibits aromatase transcription selectively in breast cancer cells and adjacent adipose tissue via promoter II.
Why it matters
It outlines biological mechanisms linking vitamin D metabolites to the inhibition of local estrogen synthesis and signaling, supporting hypotheses for potential preventive or therapeutic applications.
Limits
The paper is a narrative review detailing bench and animal models with no human clinical trial data or quantitative effect sizes reported in the abstract.
Cited by
- supports Vitamin D decreases estrogen receptor sensitivity and expression.