VITAMIN D can improve the survival chances of both skin and bowel cancer patients, research has shown.
Two studies showed that patients with higher levels of the vitamin in their blood when they were diagnosed were less likely to die from their disease.
US scientists from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston monitored the progress of 1,017 bowel cancer patients for around nine years.
They found that patients with higher blood levels of vitamin D at diagnosis were 50 per cent less likely to die during that time than those with lower levels.
Study leader Professor Kimmie Ng said: “Our study shows that levels of vitamin D after colorectal cancer diagnosis may be important for survival. We are now planning further research in patients with bowel cancer to see if vitamin D has the same effect, and to investigate how vitamin D works with molecular and genetic pathways in the cell to fight cancer.”
The findings were published in the British Journal of Cancer.
In the second study of 872 patients, UK researches found a link between low blood levels of vitamin D and recurring malignant melanoma – the most dangerous form of skin cancer.
Patients with the lowest levels at diagnosis were 30 per cent more likely to suffer a relapse after treatment than those with the highest levels.
Patients with higher amounts of vitamin D in their blood also had thinner tumours when they were diagnosed.
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A cheap drug used to treat bowel cancer should also be prescribed to patients with a condition that leads to sight loss, say UK researchers.
A study suggests cancer drug Avastin is “superior to standard care” and cheaper than the current medication, they report in the British Medical Journal.
Avastin is not yet licensed for age-related macular degeneration, which is a leading cause of blindness in the UK.
Ministers have asked the drugs body NICE to explore its value.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is also the leading cause of sight loss in patients over the age of 50 in Europe and North America.
“Dry” AMD is the most common form of the condition, which develops very slowly, causing gradual loss of central vision.
“Wet” AMD, which occurs in about one in 10 patients, can develop quickly and lead to sight loss.