There’s a process to ovarian cancer known as peritoneal metastasis and essentially is the movement of cells from one site to another. According to researchers the peritoneum defends against this move through a barrier of mesothelial cells, which stops the cancer from spreading and sticking.
They say though, ovarian cancer cells can get past this defence by making the healthy cells cancerous and creating an environment where they thrive.
According to Cancer Australia, over 1000 women died from ovarian cancer in 2021 with 48 per cent of those women only expected to live another five years.
However, Dr Masato Yoshihara and his team at Nagoya University discovered that vitamin D can actually halt theperitoneal metastasis and even turn cancerous cells back into the mesothelial soldiers they were before.
“It’s a world first” said the head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, with hopes the vitamin will be used for treatment.
Scientists found that vitamin D disrupts a protein within the cancer called TGF- β1, which is responsible for cell growth.
“The administration of Vitamin D helps normalize the peritoneal environment,” said Dr Kitami.
“This suggests that the combination of Vitamin D and conventional remedies can enhance their therapeutic efficacy for ovarian cancer.”
In Australia, ovarian cancer is the ninth most commonly diagnosed cancer with women having a 1 in 87 chance of getting it before they turn 85.
