Vitamin D supplement found to lower risk of melanoma, new study finds

New research has found that people who regularly consume vitamin D supplements have a lower risk of skin cancer, as opposed to those who do not take the supplement.

Melanoma is one of the few cancers on the rise in cases in Canada, and now a new study has found one way to potentially lower the risk of getting the life-threatening disease.

New research conducted by dermatologists at the University of Eastern Finland in collaboration with Kuopio University Hospital in Finland found that people who regularly take vitamin D supplementation are at a lower risk for melanoma, as opposed to those who do not take the supplement.

Melanoma is a potentially deadly form of skin cancer and it was estimated 9,000 Canadians were diagnosed with the illness in 2022, according to the Canadian Cancer Society.

While vitamin D is known to be naturally manufactured through the skin by the sun, the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention, a U.S.-based organization, advises that adults and children should avoid intentional exposure to the harmful UV radiation of sun rays, which are known to cause skin cancers, and instead use diet and supplementation to get adequate levels of the fat-soluble vitamin. 

In the study, dermatologists discovered the power of the supplementation by analyzing the background information and medical history of 498 recruited adults who were at risk for any kind of skin cancer, as well as performed an examination of their skin. 

Based on this, the patients were classified into varying levels of skin cancer risk categories starting at low, moving to moderate risk, and up to high risk.

Examples of skin cancers the patients were at risk for included basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, or melanoma, which is one of the most common cancer types found in young Canadian adults aged 15 to to 49.