The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

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  • Recent Comments

    Failure to lower skin cancer risk with vitamin D

    Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine, in Redwood City, California, evaluated the effects of vitamin D combined with calcium supplementation on melanoma skin cancers.

    First, the details.

    • 36,282 postmenopausal women enrolled in the Women’s Health Initiative calcium/vitamin D study were randomly assigned to a treatment group for about 7 years.
      • 1,000 mg of elemental calcium + 400 IU of vitamin D3 daily
      • Placebo
    • Nonmelanoma and melanoma skin cancers were recorded.

    And, the results.

    • The rate of nonmelanoma and melanoma didn’t differed between treatments.
    • Women with a history of nonmelanoma skin cancer taking vitamin D + calcium had a significantly reduced risk of melanoma vs those taking placebo.
      • This was not observed in women without history of nonmelanoma skin cancer.

    The bottom line?

    The authors concluded, “Vitamin D supplementation at a relatively low dose plus calcium did not reduce the overall incidence of nonmelanoma skin cancer or melanoma.”

    But the suggestion of a potential role for calcium + vitamin D supplements in women at high risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer warrants more study.

    7/21/11 22:22 JR

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