The Relationship between Vitamin D and Basal Cell Carcinoma: A Systematic Review

Abstract

This systematic review studies the relationship between vitamin D serum levels and basal cell carcinoma (BCC). The primary source of vitamin D is sunlight exposure. Recently, an increase in the intake of vitamin D supplements has been noticed. The protective value of vitamin D is well established and has been studied several times for the health of the bones, cartilage, growth, various dermatological diseases, and also as a chemoprotective agent against several cancers. On the scientific front, it has yet to be established that increasing serum vitamin D levels increase the incidence of BCC. We included reports that investigated this relationship in this review. We applied keywords in published papers in PubMed, ScienceDirect, Cochrane, and Google Scholar to find relevant studies. After applying the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) checklist and the quality appraisal for 68 records, we included only ten studies. In these studies, serum levels of vitamin D were measured. Five of them supported the link between BCC incidence and development and high serum vitamin D levels (e.g., Mahamat-Saleh Y, et al.), while the other five did not (e.g., Tang JY, et al.). We included only two studies that investigated the vitamin D receptor (VDR) polymorphism. Experts debate adding a high dose of vitamin D supplements to our daily routine. After studying most of the reports, it was ascertained that the literature supports keeping vitamin D serum levels below 30-60 nmol/L. However, further studies should be done to help find a healthy balance of vitamin D serum levels, especially when it comes to increasing the risk of cancer like BCC.

The Association of Vitamin D with Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer Risk: An Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses

“…Our literature search yielded a total of 269 relevant articles. Ten SRs fulfilled our eligibility criteria and were included in the review, with 7 of those conducting meta-analysis of the data [13,14,[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. The study selection process is depicted by the flow diagram (Figure 1).…”

“…The remaining two examined the chemoprotective role of VitD on BCC and SCC, with Sutedja et al testing its role in patients with confirmed malignancies [27]. Of note, Abdelwahab et al included 4 studies from Mahamat-Saleh et al in their review [22]. Overall, 4 RCTs were included in 4 out of the total 10 SRs, included in the overview, as portrayed in the citation matrix (Table S2).…”

“…Heatmap for visualization of overlap, adjusted for structural missingness. The degree of overlap of primary studies between pairs of reviews (CCA = 0% represents no overlap of primary studies [white color], CCA = 100% represents complete overlap of primary studies between the SRs [deep green color]) [13,14,[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] Odds ratios (with 95% CI) of the outcomes of interest are analyzed and presented below, as forest plots, along with core information of the overview (Tables 2-4). Odds ratios (with 95% CI) of the outcomes of interest are analyzed and presented below, as forest plots, along with core information of the overview (Tables 2-4).…”

Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer and Vitamin D: The “Lost Sunlight” Paradox and the Oxidative Stress Explanation

“…The debate also extends to the therapeutic strategy option of Vitamin D supplementation in patients with BCC. Although meta-analysis has evinced a protective effect of lower vitamin D levels regarding BCC occurrence, there are studies supporting the proposition that higher levels of vitamin D are associated with higher risk of BCC, making the relationship between skin cancer and vitamin D more unclear [13]. A study that focused on the role of vitamin D receptor (VDR) polymorphisms in non-melanoma skin cancer development is also worth mentioning, since it reported a possible relationship between the two [14], highlighting the role of vitamin D in skin cancer.…”

A novel approach toward skin cancer classification through fused deep features and neutrosophic environment

“…Second, melanoma and non-melanoma lesions have a significant relationship. The environment, which includes hair, veins, and illumination, is the third factor ( 8 ). When the number of images required to train a deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) is insufficient, conventional augmentation is widely used.…”