Sun exposure protects melanoma patients from recurrence?

Our regular diet provides few quantities of vitamin D and most of us depend on cutaneous synthesis from Sun exposure to obtain adequate volumes of vitamin D. Food supplements are not regularly consumed by most of us and deficiency of vitamin D – or suboptimal levels – are commonly found in healthy populations.
In a prospective cohort study published last year (where the information above came from), there was “a strong inverse correlation between serum vitamin D levels and Breslow thickness” (and indicator of “aggressiveness of melanoma”). Low levels of vitamin D also correlates to bone density and bone fractures, and this information also correlates with the risk of melanoma development…
Authors consider –for good – that the level of vitamin D can only be a marker for another causal relationship. They also have shown that vitamin D deficiency is common among patients with melanoma in UK (in another study) and may increase the risk of relapse from melanoma.

Question: Should a patient with diagnosed and treated melanoma go to the beach as medical recommendation and forget about “sun avoidance policy”?

That’s not the case. Vitamin D supplements are safer and may be a better option; until more information come in.

Question: Should everyone take vitamin D pills as supplements?

We are not sure about the optimal level of vitamin D (the ideal level correlates to the lowest parathyroid hormone level), but suboptimal levels are frequent in healthy people… and low bone density is common as well. Excessively high levels of vitamin D are toxic...

Clues…

The Institute of Medicine (http://www.iom.edu/) will release a report in ~May 2010 about vitamin D adequate daily intake. We will provide more info when it's "on air"...

The www.veganhealth.com, info about calcium and vitamin D: http://ow.ly/1z4gE.

The University of Michigan, info about calcium and vitamin D: http://ow.ly/1z4hT.

The cited article from the Journal of Clinical Oncology: Julia A. Newton-Bishop, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vol 27, No 32 (November 10), 2009: pp. 5439-5444), where this info came from. http://ow.ly/1z5Tv.