Vitamin D and pancreatic cancer: Impact on oncogenesis, prospects for use in diagnosis and treatment

According to the International Foundation for Research on Cancer, malignant neoplasms of the pancreas are the fourth leading cause of death among all oncological nosologies. Over the past few years, there has been a trend in the form of an increase in the number of newly diagnosed cases of the disease. The disappointing data of pancreatic cancer statistics dictate the conditions for a more intensive study of nature, the search for new possible methods for the early detection and treatment of pancreatic cancer. One of the promising areas is to study the effect of vitamin D and its derivatives on carcinogenesis and prevention of pancreatic cancer. Vitamin D and its derivatives have the ability to regulate growth, differentiation, apoptosis and angiogenesis of cells, thus, the concentration of this substance in blood plasma in patients at risk of developing pancreatic cancer can be used in a set of measures for the early detection of this pathology. One of the morphological features of pancreatic cancer, which determines resistance to chemotherapeutic agents, is the presence of a desmoplastic stroma. Vitamin D is able to influence the functioning of the elements of the desmoplastic stroma of pancreatic cancer, which may contribute to an improved effect of cytotoxic chemotherapy and the formation of an immunogenic response to treatment. One of the pleiotropic effects of vitamin D is in the regulation of the immune system: it may play a role in increasing the sensitivity of tumors to other immunotherapies. These areas are considered promising in the treatment of pancreatic cancer. The purpose of this literature review is to highlight the effect of vitamin D on carcinogenesis, early detection and treatment of pancreatic cancer.

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