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Scientists are getting closer to developing a chemically-modified
form of vitamin D that may one day be used to prevent cancer.
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Researchers administered one of 4 different types
of chemically modified vitamin D directly to the skin of mice that
had been given a skin cancer-promoting agent.
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After 20 weeks of treatment, the mice that got
either of the 4 the modified vitamin D had a reduced occurrence of
skin cancer tumors of up to 28% compared to a control group of mice.
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"These are the first animal trials that show
efficacy and safety of our particular version of (vitamin D),"
said Dr. Gary H. Posner of the Johns Hopkins University in an interview
with Reuters Health.
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Previous hopes for vitamin D being used as a cancer-preventive
agent had been put on hold because, at the levels needed for cancer
protection, it is known to deplete the body of calcium, causing osteoporosis.
"When we administered our synthetic versions
of (vitamin D) at concentrations that were twenty times higher than the
natural vitamin D, there was no evidence of increased calcium in the mice,"
said Dr. Posner.
American Chemical Society
meeting August, 2000 Washington, DC.
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