Vitamin D in melanoma: Controversies and potential role in combination with immune check-point inhibitors

Publication date: September 2018

Source: Cancer Treatment Reviews, Volume 69

Author(s): Luigia Stefania Stucci, Stella D'Oronzo, Marco Tucci, Antonella Macerollo, Simone Ribero, Francesco Spagnolo, Elena Marra, Virginia Picasso, Laura Orgiano, Riccardo Marconcini, Francesco De Rosa, Lorenza Di Guardo, Giulia Galli, Sara Gandini, Raffaele Palmirotta, Giuseppe Palmieri, Paola Queirolo, Francesco Silvestris, for the Italian Melanoma Intergroup (IMI)

Abstract

The role of vitamin D in melanoma is still controversial. Although several Authors described a correlation between vitamin D deficiency and poor survival in metastatic melanoma patients, clinical trials exploring the effects of vitamin D supplementation in this clinical setting were mostly inconclusive.

However, recent evidence suggests that vitamin D exerts both anti-proliferative effects on tumor cells and immune-modulating activities, that have been widely explored in auto-immune disorders. On the one hand, vitamin D has been shown to inhibit T-helper17 lymphocytes, notoriously involved in the pathogenesis of immune-related adverse events (iAEs) which complicate immune-checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment. On the other hand, vitamin D up-regulates PDL-1 expression on both epithelial and immune cells, suggesting a synergic effect in combination with ICIs, for which further investigation is needed.

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