LEF: New model of cancer development proposed

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June 2, 2009

New model of cancer development proposed

In an article scheduled to appear in the ls of Epidemiology,

epidemiologist Cedric Garland, DrPH and his associates at the University

of California San Diego's s Cancer Center propose that cancer,

rather than commencing with genetic mutations, is initially caused by a

reduction in the of ability of cells to stick together.

Research has shown that inadequate vitamin D can result in a loss of

stickiness between cells as well as a loss of differentiation, which

causes cells to revert to a stem cell-like state. Additionally,

extracellular calcium ions are necessary for intercellular adherence.

" The first event in cancer is loss of communication among cells due to,

among other things, low vitamin D and calcium levels, " explained Dr

Garland, who is a professor of family and preventive medicine at the UC

San Diego School of Medicine " In this new model, we propose that this

loss may play a key role in cancer by disrupting the communication

between cells that is essential to healthy cell turnover, allowing more

aggressive cancer cells to take over. "

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