> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.foodconsumer.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # This free vitamin helps fight prostate cancer - URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/free_vitamin_helps_fight_prostate_cancer_0423120559/ - Published: 2012-04-23T18:58:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-22T16:09:02.000Z - Description: In a trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 52 men with low-risk prostate cancer took 4,000 IU of vitamin D3 daily for a year, and most of those who finished saw their Gleason scores fall. David Marshall's team tracked PSA every two months and rebiopsied. - Author: Food Consumer - Tags: Vitamins, Nutrition, Prostate Cancer, Vitamin D, #vivvo-import By David Liu, PHD Monday April 23, 2012 (foodconsumer.org) -- Taking high doses of vitamin3 supplements can help patients with low-risk prostate cancer, according to a trial study released in the April 16, 2012 issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. The trial led by David T. Marshall of Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina and colleagues found the majority of patients with prostate cancer taking 4000 International Units of vitamin D3 for one year decreased their Gleason scores. The Gleason score indicates the stage of prostate cancer, thus the prognosis of the disease. Higher numbers indicate that the disease is more serious. Early observational studies have already suggested that vitamin D may reduce risk of prostate cancer and many other types of malignancies because these patients tend to have low, insufficient or deficient vitamin D levels. The trial result suggests that vitamin D may also work for other types of prostate cancer. It is speculated that the researchers conducted this trial in low-risk prostate cancer patients, not advanced prostate cancer patients because even if vitamin D does not help them, these patients would not be immediately at risk of any adverse consequences. Trial studies of vitamin D on prostate cancer are few. But the researchers wanted to investigate how vitamin D would benefit low- risk prostate cancer. For the trial, they let 52 low-risk prostate cancer patients take 4000 IU/day of vitamin D3 for one year. Forty eight patients completed the one-year trial and 44 patients provided data that can be used for analysis of the safety and efficacy of vitamin D3. PSA serum levels were measured at baseline and every two months for one year. Biopsy was performed before enrollment to confirm eligibility and again at the end of one year of vitamin D3 supplementation. No adverse effects were found in patients taking vitamin D3\. And vitamin D3 does not affect the PSA levels. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test is used to evaluate the health status of the prostate gland even though the designer of the test said that it is unreliable to use this method to evaluate the risk. However, 44% of the subjects in the trial increased their Gleason Scores while 55 percent showed their Gleason scores decreased. The limitation of the trial is that the size of trial was small and no controls were used. Considering that vitamin D is known to be involved in more than 100 health conditions including heart disease, diabetes, up to 17 types of cancers, and depression, it is wise for men to maintain a normal level of serum vitamin D regardless of its effect on prostate cancer. Prostate cancer risk is found higher among men who eat large amounts of meat. There are many things men can do to reduce their risk. According to the National Cancer Institute, each year, 200,000 American men are diagnosed with prostate cancer, and the disease kills about 40,000 American men annually.