Popping a daily supplement containing calcium and vitamin D could shield some women from the most lethal form of skin cancer, a new study from the Journal of Clinical Oncology suggests. For women with a history of non-melanoma skin cancer, the calcium/vitamin D combo appeared to curb risk of melanoma (the leading cause of death from skin disease).
Past research shows that people with a history of non-melanoma skin cancer are more likely to develop melanoma. For the new study, researchers sized up data collected from 36,282 women over the course of about seven years. Half of the study members took 1,000 mg of calcium and 400 IU of vitamin D in supplements each day, while the other half took a placebo. By the end of the treatment period, supplement-taking women with a history of non-melanoma skin cancer had developed 57 percent fewer melanomas (compared to women with similar histories who were given the placebo). However, supplements did not seem to slash melanoma risk for women without skin-cancer history.
Although it’s not known how calcium and vitamin D might fight melanoma, the study’s authors note that the sunshine vitamin plays a key role in how rapidly skin cells replicate (a process that typically runs off course in skin cancer), and could be beneficial if you are living with cancer.
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