Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0025202 (melanoma)
 69,561 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Health disparities are of continuing concern to the community of public health professionals. Despite concerted efforts on a number of fronts, little progress seems to have been made towards eliminating these disparities. This is due in part to a frame of reference that focuses on race and racism. While racism plays a role, continued focus on socially constructed racial groups will not lead to solutions to the problem. Humans are biological organisms and the presence of disease indicates a maladaptation between the individual human organism and its environment. Lumping together into a 'racial' group large numbers of individuals who share little in terms of phenotype, culture, and/or behavior inhibits reaching appropriate solutions. Progress will only be made when the issue of health disparities is reframed as one of phenotype/environmental mismatch. Such a frame crosscuts current racial groups. Health disparities such as hypertension, prostate cancer, low-birth-weight (LBW) infants, infant mortality, rickets, and melanoma are affected by the interactions of degree of pigmentation, amount of exposure to ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation, and levels of serum vitamin D. Reframing the problem of health disparities from one of race and racism to one of phenotype/environmental mismatch permits a solution to an otherwise intractable problem.
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PMID:Health disparities: reframing the problem. 1285 93

The expression of vitamin D(3) up-regulating protein-1 (VDUP1) was up-regulated by 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) (VD3) treatment in B16 mouse melanoma cells. The functional effect of VDUP1 on B16F10 melanoma cells was demonstrated by reduction of Fas ligand and CD44 expression in cells transfected with VDUP1 antisense cDNA. Furthermore, intracellular reactive oxygen species level and cell proliferation were decreased in antisense transfectants compared with those in vector controls. However, melanin synthesis was up-regulated in antisense transfectants. In addition, VDUP1 antisense transfectants showed an increased susceptibility to natural killer (NK) cells in vitro. When VDUP1 antisense transfectants were implanted into syngeneic mice, significant reduction of tumor cell growth was observed with the infiltrate of T cells and NK cells in tumor area. Taken together, these results demonstrate that VDUP1 has critical physiological roles and can be a novel therapeutic target for melanoma.
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PMID:Vitamin D(3) up-regulating protein 1 (VDUP1) antisense DNA regulates tumorigenicity and melanogenesis of murine melanoma cells via regulating the expression of fas ligand and reactive oxygen species. 1270 26

This year, more than one million new cases of skin cancer will be diagnosed in the United States and an estimated 9800 individuals will die of the disease. Despite recent public education efforts and increased public awareness about the importance of the use of sunscreen and avoidance of ultraviolet radiation, the incidence of melanoma has more than tripled among white Americans from 1980 to 2001. This increase in cancer rates means that one person dies of melanoma in this country every hour of every day. The answer to this increasing problem is not a simple one, but public education seems to be a common starting point. The American Cancer Society and the American Academy of Dermatology have published recommendations with regard to sun exposure and sunscreen use. However, patients often ask questions that are not as easily answered. Questions such as, Which sunscreens are the safest? Are tanning beds safe? If I limit my sun exposure, do I need to take vitamin D supplements? If I tanned as a teenager, is the damage already done? How do I treat sunburn? This article provides a review of the current literature regarding these issues and provides the facts family physicians need to answer common patient questions. The author discusses the mechanisms of sun damage, the facts on tanning beds, and the importance of supplementing vitamin D.
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PMID:Ultraviolet radiation: sun exposure, tanning beds, and vitamin D levels. What you need to know and how to decrease the risk of skin cancer. 1295 50

The vitamin D is involved in essential cell regulatory processes such as proliferation and differentiation in a number of different cell types including cancer cells. Adriamycin is one of the most effective agents in the treatment of many types of solid tumours and leukemias. The common features in the biological activity, expressed by vitamin D family members and adriamycin such as: apoptosis induction, influence on antioxidant enzymes activity etc., created the suggestion of synergistic effects of these compounds combination. In the earlier studies the antiproliferative activity of vitamin D3 metabolites was shown in ME18 cells, but without any correlation with sensitivity of the cells to adriamycin. In the current work the possible role of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (calcidiol) and 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (calcitriol) as the apoptotic inducers was studied in human melanoma cells. As was shown in these experiments, vitamin D3 metabolites did not stimulate apoptotic events in the cells studied and did not influence apoptosis induction in the cells treated with adriamycin.
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PMID:Studies on the influence of vitamin D3 metabolites on apoptosis induction in human neoplastic cells. 1500 19

Global high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency and re-emergence of rickets and the growing scientific evidence linking low circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D to increased risk of osteoporosis, diabetes, cancer, and autoimmune disorders have stimulated recommendations to increase sunlight (UVB) exposure as a source of vitamin D. However, concern over increased risk of melanoma with unprotected UVB exposure has led to the alternative recommendation that sufficient vitamin D should be supplied through dietary sources alone. Here, we examine the adequacy of vitamin D intake worldwide and evaluate the ability of current fortification policies and supplement use practices among various countries to meet this recommendation. It is evident from our review that vitamin D intake is often too low to sustain healthy circulating levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in countries without mandatory staple food fortification, such as with milk and margarine. Even in countries that do fortify, vitamin D intakes are low in some groups due to their unique dietary patterns, such as low milk consumption, vegetarian diet, limited use of dietary supplements, or loss of traditional high fish intakes. Our global review indicates that dietary supplement use may contribute 6-47% of the average vitamin D intake in some countries. Recent studies demonstrate safety and efficacy of community-based vitamin D supplementation trials and food staple fortification introduced in countries without fortification policies. Reliance on the world food supply as an alternative to UVB exposure will necessitate greater availability of fortified food staples, dietary supplement use, and/or change in dietary patterns to consume more fish.
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PMID:Vitamin D intake: a global perspective of current status. 1567 Dec 33

Vitamin D sufficiency is required for optimal health, and solar ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiance is an important source of vitamin D. UVB and/or vitamin D have been found in observational studies to be associated with reduced risk for over a dozen forms of cancer, multiple sclerosis, osteoporotic fractures, and several other diseases. On the other hand, excess UV irradiance is associated with adverse health outcomes such as cataracts, melanoma, and nonmelanoma skin cancer. Ecologic analyses are used to estimate the fraction of cancer mortality, multiple sclerosis prevalence, and cataract formation that can be prevented or delayed. Estimates from the literature are used for other diseases attributed to excess UV irradiation, additional cancer estimates, and osteoporotic fractures. These results are used to estimate the economic burdens of insufficient UVB irradiation and vitamin D insufficiency as well as excess UV irradiation in the United States for these diseases and conditions. We estimate that 50,000-63,000 individuals in the United States and 19,000-25,000 in the UK die prematurely from cancer annually due to insufficient vitamin D. The U.S. economic burden due to vitamin D insufficiency from inadequate exposure to solar UVB irradiance, diet, and supplements was estimated at $40-56 billion in 2004, whereas the economic burden for excess UV irradiance was estimated at $6-7 billion. These results suggest that increased vitamin D through UVB irradiance, fortification of food, and supplementation could reduce the health care burden in the United States, UK, and elsewhere. Further research is required to confirm these estimates.
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PMID:Comparisons of estimated economic burdens due to insufficient solar ultraviolet irradiance and vitamin D and excess solar UV irradiance for the United States. 1615 9

Apperly [1941. The relation of solar radiation to cancer mortality in North America. Cancer Research 1, 191-195] first proposed that increased mortality from cancer in the north than in the south of the USA might be due to the south to north decrease in ambient solar radiation. This inverse association between ambient solar radiation and cancer mortality has been subsequently reported for cancers of the colon, breast, ovary and prostate. While the evidence that sunlight might be related to lower incidence or more favourable outcomes from cancer came initially from ecological studies, case-control and cohort studies have now shown a similar association of sun exposure with risks of colon, breast and prostate cancers in individuals, and other studies in individuals have found that serum and dietary vitamin D levels are associated with reduced risks of colorectal cancer and, less certainly, prostate cancer. Studies in individuals have recently also suggested an effect of sun exposure to reduce risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and to increase survival after a diagnosis of melanoma. Data on variation in survival from cancer by season of diagnosis suggest that sun exposure may also improve outcome from cancers of the breast, colon and prostate and Hodgkin lymphoma.
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PMID:Does sunlight have a beneficial influence on certain cancers? 1659 42

There is no doubt that solar ultraviolet (UV) exposure is the most important environmental risk factor for the development of non-melanoma skin cancer. Therefore, sun protection is of particular importance to prevent these malignancies, especially in risk groups. However, 90% of all requisite vitamin D has to be formed in the skin through the action of the sun-a serious problem, for a connection between vitamin D deficiency and a broad variety of independent diseases including various types of cancer, bone diseases, autoimmune diseases, hypertension and cardiovascular disease has now been clearly indicated in a large number of epidemiologic and laboratory studies. An important link that improved our understanding of these new findings was the discovery that the biologically active vitamin D metabolite 1,25(OH)(2)D is not exclusively produced in the kidney, but in many other tissues such as prostate, colon, skin and osteoblasts. Extra-renally produced 1,25(OH)(2)D is now considered to be an autocrine or paracrine hormone, regulating various cellular functions including cell growth. We and others have shown that strict sun protection causes vitamin D deficiency in risk groups. In the light of new scientific findings that convincingly demonstrate an association of vitamin D deficiency with a variety of severe diseases including various cancers, the detection and treatment of vitamin D deficiency in sun-deprived risk groups is of high importance. It has to be emphasized that in groups that are at high risk of developing vitamin D deficiency (e.g., nursing home residents or patients under immunosuppressive therapy), vitamin D status has to be monitored. Vitamin D deficiency should be treated, e.g., by giving vitamin D orally. Dermatologists and other clinicians have to recognize that there is convincing evidence that the protective effect of less intense solar UV radiation outweighs its mutagenic effects. Although further work is necessary to define an adequate vitamin D status and adequate guidelines for solar UV exposure, it is at present mandatory that public health campaigns and recommendations of dermatologists on sun protection consider these facts. Well-balanced recommendations on sun protection have to ensure an adequate vitamin D status, thereby protecting people against adverse effects of strict sun protection without significantly increasing the risk of developing UV-induced skin cancer.
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PMID:The challenge resulting from positive and negative effects of sunlight: how much solar UV exposure is appropriate to balance between risks of vitamin D deficiency and skin cancer? 1660 32

Vitamin D production is initiated by exposure of 7-dehydrocholesterol in the skin to the UVB (280-320 nm) component of sunlight, resulting in the formation of photoproducts, which are subsequently metabolically activated to biologically active moieties in a series of dark reactions as described elsewhere in this symposium. Irradiation of the skin with UVB has, however, other effects not all of which are beneficial. Most notable is the initiation of skin cancer. Non-melanoma skin cancer is clearly initiated by UVB but for the most lethal of the skin cancers, cutaneous malignant melanoma, although associated with sunlight exposure, the wavelengths responsible have not been clearly identified. Using a mouse model for UV-induced melanoma, we have recently shown that UVB, not UVA (320-400 nm), is also responsible for melanoma initiation. A balance therefore needs to be struck between the healthy effects of exposure to UVB in sunlight--vitamin D formation--and the deleterious effects of which the most potentially serious is melanoma initiation. A powerful tool in determining this balance would be an understanding of the action spectra or wavelength dependence for each of these effects. Here we describe methodologies, approaches and potential pitfalls for action spectra determination illustrated by our experience with the HGF/SF transgenic mouse model for UV-induced melanoma.
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PMID:Initial studies on an in vivo action spectrum for melanoma induction. 1662 84

Since 1970s, incidence rates for malignant melanoma have been among the fastest rising of all cancers in the UK. Compared to other cancers, melanoma affects disproportionately more young people, and non-melanoma skin cancers are the most commonly diagnosed, with over 100,000 new cases estimated in the UK annually. Government targets to reduce skin cancer incidence have led working groups and prevention campaigns to be set up in the belief that moderating UV exposure will help. An increased awareness of skin cancer has clearly played a role in curbing mortality from the disease, but translating knowledge into behaviour change in this context is a slow and complex process, and campaigns need to be sustained if they are to impact on incidence. A growing body of literature suggesting a cancer protective role for vitamin D and sun exposure presents further challenges for skin cancer prevention campaigns, no more so than when exaggerated claims for the health benefits of sunbathing make the media spotlight. The UK population tend to need little encouragement to make the most of sunshine, and this is especially true for the younger generation who most need to take care. Public health messages to avoid the midday sun, not to burn and to protect children should not adversely affect outdoor activity or population vitamin D levels, but it is important that they are targeted to those most at risk and are consistent. More research is required to establish optimal levels of vitamin D and how to safely achieve them in a heterogeneous population. In the meantime, hasty alterations of public health messages are likely to prove counterproductive.
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PMID:Public awareness regarding UV risks and vitamin D--the challenges for UK skin cancer prevention campaigns. 1662 85


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