Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia Regression With Vitamin D

by | Jan 29, 2018 | 2017, Cancer, Vitamin D - Cancer, Vitamins, Women's Health

Written by Jessica Patella, ND. Six months of supplementation with fifty-thousand international units of Vitamin D resulted in significant regression of CIN-1 precancerous cells in the participating twenty-nine women compared to the control.

vitamin DCervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women world-wide, but is far less common in the United States due to routine pap-smear screening 1. In the U.S., an estimated 13,240 cases of invasive cervical cancer will be diagnosed in 2018 1-3. For the first time, researchers studied the effects of long-term vitamin D supplementation on cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 1 (CIN-I), a type of precancerous transformation of cells in the cervix 1. Researchers found that supplementing with vitamin D resulted in regression of the precancerous cells 1.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common cause for cervical cancer 1,4, but there has been a link between inflammation and oxidative stress for cervical cancer as well 1,5. Vitamin D has been shown to possibly reduce cancer risk through modulating cell growth 6, but this is the first time it was studied in women with CIN-I .

The study included 58 women from 18-55 years of age diagnosed with CIN 1. The women were randomly assigned to receive either 50,000 IU of vitamin D3 (n=29) or a placebo (n=29) every 2 weeks for 6 months 1.

  • After 6 months, 84.6% of women taking vitamin D showed significant regression of the CIN-I precancerous cells versus 53.8% of women taking the placebo (P=0.01). One woman in the placebo group converted to CIN-II 1.
  • Compared to placebo, vitamin D supplementation significantly increased blood levels of vitamin D (12.3 +/-11.4 vs -0.1 +/-3.7 ng/ml; P<0.001) 1 and significantly decreased blood insulin levels (-5.3 +/- 7.3 vs 2.4 +/-5.9 microIU/mL; P<0.001) 1.

Antioxidant markers also improved significantly in the vitamin D group compared to the placebo group in the following measures:

  • Nitric oxide (15.5 +/- 10.3 vs 4.0 +/- 13.4 micromol/L; P=0.001)
  • Total antioxidant capacity (50.0 +/- 339.5 vs 6.2 +/- 44.1 mmol/L; P=0.04)
  • Total glutathione (11.8 +/- 153.5 vs -294.2 +/- 595.1 micromol/L; P=0.01)
  • Malondialdehyde (-0.8 +/- 1.0 vs -0.03 +/- 1.4 micomol/L; P=0.03)

In conclusion, supplementing with vitamin D for 6 months in women in CIN-I resulted in precancerous cell regression and improved markers of insulin metabolism and multiple antioxidant levels. These results should be confirmed with a larger study 1.

Source: Vahedpoor, Zahra, Mehri Jamilian, Fereshteh Bahmani, Esmat Aghadavod, Maryam Karamali, Maryam Kashanian, and Zatollah Asemi. “Effects of Long-Term Vitamin D Supplementation on Regression and Metabolic Status of Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia: a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.” Hormones and Cancer 8, no. 1 (2017): 58-67

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016

Posted January 29, 2018.

Jessica Patella, ND, is a naturopathic physician specializing in nutrition and homeopathic medicine and offers a holistic approach to health. She earned her ND from Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in Tempe, AZ, and is a member of the North Carolina Association of Naturopathic Physicians. Visit her website at www.awarenesswellness.com.

References:

  1. Vahedpoor Z, Jamilian M, Bahmani F, et al. Effects of Long-Term Vitamin D Supplementation on Regression and Metabolic Status of Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia: a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial. Hormones and Cancer. 2017:1-10.
  2. Castellsagué X. Natural history and epidemiology of HPV infection and cervical cancer. Gynecologic oncology. 2008;110(3):S4-S7.
  3. Society AC. Key Statistics for Cervical Cancer. 2018; Statistics about cervical cancer. Available at: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cervical-cancer/about/key-statistics.html. Accessed January 22, 2018, 2018.
  4. Kukimoto I, Mori S, Aoyama S, Wakae K, Muramatsu M, Kondo K. Hypermutation in the E2 gene of human papillomavirus type 16 in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. Journal of medical virology. 2015;87(10):1754-1760.
  5. Mitchell C, Hitti J, Paul K, et al. Cervicovaginal shedding of HIV type 1 is related to genital tract inflammation independent of changes in vaginal microbiota. AIDS research and human retroviruses. 2011;27(1):35-39.
  6. Ziegler RG, Jones CJ, Brinton LA, et al. Diet and the risk of in situ cervical cancer among white women in the United States. Cancer Causes & Control. 1991;2(1):17-29.