Vitamin D3 and its Potential to Ameliorate Chemical and Radiation-Induced Skin Injury During Cancer Therapy

Abstract

Skin injury and dermatitis are common complications following chemotherapy and radiation administration for cancer treatment. Symptomatic relief of these complications is limited to slow-acting therapies and often results in holding or modifying cancer therapy that may impact patient outcomes.

The off-label use of oral high dose vitamin D3 has demonstrated rapid clinical improvement in skin inflammation and swelling in both chemotherapy and radiation-induced injury.

Furthermore, vitamin D3 has been shown to downregulate pro-inflammatory pathways and cytokines, including NFkB, and CCL2, as well as CCL20, which are not only involved in tissue injury, but may confer resistance to cancer treatment.

In this paper, we discuss 2 patients with acute radiation dermatitis and acute radiation recall dermatitis following chemotherapy who received 50 000 - 100 000 IU of oral high dose vitamin D3 with improvement in their symptoms.

These findings may indicate the potential use of vitamin D as a therapeutic intervention and future target for studying skin healing following chemotherapy and/ or radiation-induced cutaneous toxicity.

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See also:

- Official Web Site: The Di Bella Method;

- The Di Bella Method (A Fixed Part - Dihydrotachysterol, Alfacalcidol, synthetic Vitamin D3);

- Vitamin D (analogues and/or derivatives) and cancer - In vitro, review and in vivo publications;

- The Di Bella Method (A Fixed Part - Cyclophosphamide 50mg tablets and/or Hydroxyurea 500mg tablets, one or two per day);

- The Di Bella Method (A Fixed Part - Calcium, 2 grams per day, orally);

- The Synergism of Somatostatin, Melatonin, Vitamins Prolactin and Estrogen Inhibitors Increased Survival, Objective Response and Performance Status In 297 Cases of Breast Cancer;

- Complete objective response, stable for 5 years, with the Di Bella Method, of multiple-metastatic carcinoma of the breast;

- Evaluation of the safety and efficacy of the first-line treatment with somatostatin combined with melatonin, retinoids, vitamin D3, and low doses of cyclophosphamide in 20 cases of breast cancer: a preliminary report;

- The Di Bella Method (DBM) improved survival, objective response and performance status in a retrospective observational clinical study on 122 cases of breast cancer;

- Complete objective response to biological therapy of plurifocal breast carcinoma;

- Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: clinical records on 17 patients treated with Di Bella's Method;

- The Di Bella Method Increases by the 30% the survival rate for Pancreas tumors and for this reason should be proposed as first line therapy for this type of cancer;

- The Di Bella Method (DBM) in the treatment of prostate cancer: a preliminary retrospective study of 16 patients and a review of the literature.