We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us

Download Mobile App




Vitamin D Treatment Shrinks Mammalian Fibroid Tumors

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 13 Mar 2012
Uterine fibroid tumors, the most common problematic benign tumors in women of childbearing age, were greatly reduced upon treatment of laboratory rats with vitamin D.

Uterine fibroids are associated with infertility, miscarriage, and preterm labor. More...
Thirty percent of women 25 to 44 years of age report fibroid-related symptoms, such as lower back pain, heavy vaginal bleeding, or painful menstrual periods. Compared to white women, these tumors are 3-4 times more common in African-American women, who also have a roughly ten times higher incidence of vitamin D deficiency.

Other than surgical removal of the uterus, there are few treatment options for women experiencing severe fibroid-related symptoms and about 200,000 US women undergo the procedure each year.

On March 1, 2012, the National Institutes of Health (NIH; Bethesda, MD, USA) released a report summarizing the study published in the journal Biology of Reproduction, in which researchers tested a three-week, subcutaneous vitamin D treatment regimen on a strain of female rats genetically predisposed to developing the fibroid tumors (formally, uterine leiomyoma tumors).

First author Sunil K. Halder, PhD, of Meharry Medical College (Nashville, TN, USA) conducted the research with coauthors and Meharry colleagues Chakradhari Sharan, PhD, and Ayman Al-Hendy, MD, PhD, and with Kevin G. Osteen, PhD, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center (Nashville, TN, USA).

In previous work, the study authors found that vitamin D inhibited the growth of human fibroid cells in laboratory tissue cultures. This provided a lead to the current study on rats, the results of which “provide a promising new lead in the search for a nonsurgical treatment for fibroids that doesn't affect fertility," said Louis De Paolo, PhD, chief of the Reproductive Sciences Branch of the NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD; Bethesda, MD, USA), which funded the study.

After examining the animals and confirming the presence of the fibroids in 12, the researchers divided the rats into two groups of six each: those that would receive vitamin D (formally, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3) and the control group of those that would not. In the first group, small pumps implanted under the skin delivered a continuous dose of vitamin D for three weeks. Fibroids increased in size in the untreated rats, but, in the rats receiving vitamin D, the tumors had shrunk dramatically.

Toxicity analyses testing indicators in serum showed similar levels in vitamin D-treated and control groups, supporting that vitamin D may be a potentially safe, nonsurgical therapeutic option for the treatment of uterine leiomyomas.

Related Links:
National Institutes of Health
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Meharry Medical College



New
Gold Member
Immunochromatographic Assay
CRYPTO Cassette
3-Part Differential Hematology Analyzer
Swelab Alfa Plus Sampler
New
Autoimmune Disease Diagnostic
Chorus ds-DNA-G
New
Anterior Nasal Specimen Collection Swabs
53-1195-TFS, 53-0100-TFS, 53-0101-TFS, 53-4582-TFS
Read the full article by registering today, it's FREE! It's Free!
Register now for FREE to LabMedica.com and get access to news and events that shape the world of Clinical Laboratory Medicine.
  • Free digital version edition of LabMedica International sent by email on regular basis
  • Free print version of LabMedica International magazine (available only outside USA and Canada).
  • Free and unlimited access to back issues of LabMedica International in digital format
  • Free LabMedica International Newsletter sent every week containing the latest news
  • Free breaking news sent via email
  • Free access to Events Calendar
  • Free access to LinkXpress new product services
  • REGISTRATION IS FREE AND EASY!
Click here to Register








Channels

Molecular Diagnostics

view channel
Image: The ONC IN-CYT platform leverages cross indication biomarker cyto-signatures (Photo courtesy of OraLiva)

AI-Powered Cytology Tool Detects Early Signs of Oral Cancer

Each year, 54,000 Americans are diagnosed with oral cancer, yet only 28% of cases are identified at an early stage, when the five-year survival rate exceeds 85%. Most diagnoses occur in later stages, when... Read more

Hematology

view channel
Image: The microfluidic device for passive separation of platelet-rich plasma from whole blood (Photo courtesy of University of the Basque Country)

Portable and Disposable Device Obtains Platelet-Rich Plasma Without Complex Equipment

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) plays a crucial role in regenerative medicine due to its ability to accelerate healing and repair tissue. However, obtaining PRP traditionally requires expensive centrifugation... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: PD-1 protein blockade is the standard treatment for advanced melanoma among the different types of immunotherapy (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

Precision Tool Predicts Immunotherapy Treatment Failure in Melanoma Patients

Melanoma, though accounting for only about 4% of skin tumors, is the deadliest form of skin cancer due to its high potential to metastasize. While immunotherapy, especially PD-1 protein blockade, has revolutionized... Read more

Pathology

view channel
Image: Researchers have developed a novel method to analyze tumor growth rates (Photo courtesy of Adobe Stock)

Novel Method To Analyze Tumor Growth Rates Helps Tracks Progression Between Diagnosis and Surgery

Patients diagnosed with breast cancer often worry about how quickly their tumors grow while they wait for surgery, and whether delays in treatment might allow the disease to spread beyond the point of cure.... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.