Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0684249 (lung carcinoma)
 23,830 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Lung metastatic neoplasms are the major cause of cancer mortality. Despite the progress of diagnostic techniques and improvements in surgical procedures, the prognosis of patients with lung cancer is generally poor, even in the early stages of cancer [Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology, vol. 1, fifth ed., Lippincott-Raven, New York, 1997, p. 849]. Epidemiological studies indicate a positive correlation with the prevalence of cancers and low serum levels of Vitamin D metabolites [Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 54 (1991) 193s; Cancer Epidemiol. Biomark. Prev. 9 (2000) 1059]. 1alpha,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D(3) [1alpha,25(OH)(2)D(3)] is a potent inhibitor of cancer cell proliferation in vitro [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 78 (1981) 4990; Endocrinol. 139 (1998) 1046; Mol. Endocr. 15 (2001) 1127]. There is, however, no report demonstrating that 1alpha,25(OH)(2)D(3) is operative in vivo to inhibit metastatic growth of cancer cells. To verify this possibility, we generated a stable transfectant of the Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cell expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) and examined its metastatic activity in wild-type mice and Vitamin D receptor (VDR) knockout mice that exhibit no Vitamin D-dependent calcemic activity and extremely high serum levels of 1alpha,25(OH)(2)D(3) due to the overexpression of the 1alpha-hydroxylase gene [Nat. Genet. 16 (1997) 391; Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 94 (1997) 9831]. Here, we show that 1alpha,25(OH)(2)D(3) inhibits metastatic growth of lung cancer cells in the defined animal model and may work as an intrinsic factor for prevention of metastasis in intact animals. These findings establish a critical role for 1alpha,25(OH)(2)D(3) in lung metastatic neoplasms and provide a new model for metastasis of malignant cells.
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PMID:Metastatic growth of lung cancer cells is extremely reduced in Vitamin D receptor knockout mice. 1522 35

Vitamin D derivatives can modulate proliferation and differentiation of cancer cells. Our main source of Vitamin D is ultraviolet (UV) radiation-induced synthesis in skin following sun exposure. UV measurements show that the ambient annual UV exposures increase by about 50% from north to south in Norway. As judged from the incidence rates of squamous cell carcinoma, the same is true for the average personal UV exposures. Solar ultraviolet B (UVB) (280-320nm) exhibits a strong seasonal variation with a minimum during the winter months. The present work aims at investigating the impact of season of diagnosis and residential region, both influencing the Vitamin D level, on the risk of death from lung cancer in patients diagnosed in Norway. Data on all incident cases of lung cancer between 1964 and 2000 were collected. Risk estimates were calculated as relative risk (RR), with 95% confidence intervals using Cox regression model. The seasonal variation of 25-hydroxyvitamin D was assessed from routine measurements of 15,616 samples performed at The Hormone Laboratory of Aker University Hospital. Our results indicate that season of diagnosis is of prognostic value for lung cancer patients, with a approximately 15% lower case fatality for young male patients diagnosed during autumn versus winter (RR=0.85; 95% CI, -0.73 to 0.99; p=0.04). Residing in a high UV region resulted in a further lowering of the death risk than residing in a low UV region. We propose, in agreement with earlier findings for prostate-, breast- colon cancer and Hodgkins lymphoma, that a high level of sun-induced 25-hydroxyvitamin D can be a prognostic advantage for certain groups of lung cancer patients, notably for young men. Lung cancer has for several decades been the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in men in Norway and during the last two decades, became the second most common cause of cancer-related death in women . There are two main types of lung cancer: small cell lung cancer for which chemotherapy is the primary treatment and non-small cell lung cancer, which in its early stages is treated primarily with surgery. Gender-related differences have been described in the literature with respect to survival after therapy, male gender being a significant independent negative prognostic factor . In Norway the 5 years relative survival for localized tumours is about 30% for females and 20% for males. Calcitriol, which is the most active form of Vitamin D, is involved in key regulatory processes such as proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis in a wide variety of cells . Mechanisms for these actions have been proposed to be the interaction of active Vitamin D derivatives with a specific nuclear receptor (VDR receptor) and/or with membrane targets . In vitro studies, performed with lung cancer cell lines, have shown an inhibitive effect of Vitamin D derivatives on cell-growth and proliferation . Furthermore, animal studies have demonstrated the capability of these compounds to suppress invasion, metastasis and angiogenesis in vivo , suggesting that administration of Vitamin D derivatives may be used as adjuvant therapy for lung cancer. Humans get optimal Vitamin D levels by exposure to sun or artificial ultraviolet B (UVB, 280-320nm) sources , and possibly also by consumption of food rich in this nutrient (fat fish, eggs, margarine, etc.) or of vitamin supplements . Among these sources, solar radiation appears to be the most important one . Thus, the Vitamin D status (assessed by the serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, calcidiol) exhibits a strong seasonal variation that parallels the seasonal change in the fluence of solar UVB that reaches the ground. During winter, the UVB fluence rate in the Nordic countries (50-71 degrees N) is below the level required for Vitamin D synthesis in skin . The maximal level of calcidiol is reached between the months July and September, and is 20-120% higher than the corresponding winter level . Recently we hypothesised that the seasonal variation of calcidiol might be of prognostic significance for colon-, breast- prostate cancer as well as for Hodgkins lymphoma in Norway. Patients diagnosed during summer and autumn have a better survival after standard treatment than patients diagnosed during the winter season . This might be a consequence of a higher Vitamin D level. An American study investigated the effect of season of surgery and recent Vitamin D intake on the survival of non-small cell lung cancer patients. The authors reported a significant beneficial joint effect of summer season and high Vitamin D intake compared with winter season and low Vitamin D intake while Vitamin D intake alone did not affect prognosis. Similar results were recently reported from a large study in United Kingdom involving over a million cancer patients including over 190,000 patients diagnosed with lung cancer . Norway (58-71 degrees N) has a significant north-south variation in UV fluence. This makes the country suitable for studies relating cancer epidemiology to UV levels . We investigated whether variations in UV, and, consequently, in Vitamin D level, influence the prognosis of lung cancer, using season of diagnosis and residential regions as variables. Survival data obtained for patients diagnosed over a 40 years period were compared with variations in serum Vitamin D levels obtained from routine measurements performed in The Hormone Laboratory of Aker University Hospital during the period 1996-2001. Seasonal and gender variations in Vitamin D level have been estimated from the analyses.
Lung Cancer 2007 Mar
PMID:Seasonal and geographical variations in lung cancer prognosis in Norway. Does Vitamin D from the sun play a role? 1720 91

Vitamin D has been shown to have anti-proliferative effects in a wide variety of cancers including lung cancer. The anticancer effects of vitamin D are mediated primarily by its active metabolite, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (calcitriol), through vitamin D receptor (VDR) signaling. However, thus far there have been no studies evaluating the association between VDR expression and survival outcome in lung cancer. Using immunohistochemical analysis, we evaluated VDR expression, separately in the nucleus and cytoplasm, in lung cancer samples from 73 non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) patients with no prior therapy, and investigated the association between VDR expression and overall survival (OS). Cox proportional hazard models were used for our primary analyses. There were 44 deaths during a median follow-up of 51 months (range 13-93 months). High nuclear VDR expression was associated with improved OS after adjusting for age, gender, stage, smoking status, and histology (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.36; 95% confidence interval, 0.17-0.79). There was no association between cytoplasmic VDR expression and OS. Our results suggest that nuclear VDR status may be a prognostic marker in NSCLC. Future large studies to replicate our findings and to assess the impact of VDR gene polymorphisms on VDR expression are required as therapies targeting the vitamin D signaling pathway may be influenced by VDR status in the target lung cancer tissue.
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PMID:Nuclear vitamin D receptor expression is associated with improved survival in non-small cell lung cancer. 2095 94