Vitamin D & Gut Health: Boosting Cancer Immunity
- Vitamin D may play a crucial role in boosting the body's defense against cancer,according to a new study.
- The study, published in Science, revealed that mice with vitamin D-rich diets exhibited greater immune resistance to transplanted cancers and responded better to immunotherapy.Similar results were achieved through...
- The researchers found that vitamin D influences epithelial cells in the intestine, increasing the presence of Bacteroides fragilis.
discover how vitamin D, a potential primarykeyword, plays a crucial secondarykeyword in the body’s fight against cancer. Groundbreaking research reveals a strong link between vitamin D and the growth of beneficial gut bacteria in mice,leading to enhanced cancer immunity and improved responses to immunotherapy. Scientists found vitamin D boosts a specific microbe,slowing tumor growth. A large-scale Danish study further supports this connection, showing a correlation between lower vitamin D levels and increased cancer risk. These findings from the Francis Crick Institute and others highlight the importance of diet and the gut microbiome in cancer immunity, which you can read more about on News Directory 3. Discover what’s next in cancer research!
Vitamin D Linked to Gut Bacteria growth and enhanced Cancer Immunity
Updated June 21,2025
Vitamin D may play a crucial role in boosting the body’s defense against cancer,according to a new study. Researchers from the Francis Crick Institute, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the U.S., and Aalborg University in denmark, discovered that the vitamin encourages the growth of specific gut bacteria in mice, leading to improved cancer immunity.
The study, published in Science, revealed that mice with vitamin D-rich diets exhibited greater immune resistance to transplanted cancers and responded better to immunotherapy.Similar results were achieved through gene editing to remove a protein that prevents vitamin D from reaching tissues.
The researchers found that vitamin D influences epithelial cells in the intestine, increasing the presence of Bacteroides fragilis. This microbe enhanced cancer immunity in mice, slowing tumor growth. though, the exact mechanism remains unclear.
Further tests showed that mice on normal diets, when given Bacteroides fragilis, also demonstrated improved tumor resistance. This effect was negated when the mice were placed on vitamin D-deficient diets, highlighting the interplay between vitamin D and gut bacteria.
While previous research has suggested a connection between vitamin D deficiency and cancer risk in humans, the evidence has been inconclusive. The current study adds weight to the potential link.
Analyzing data from 1.5 million individuals in Denmark, the researchers found a correlation between lower vitamin D levels and increased cancer risk. A separate analysis of cancer patients indicated that those with higher vitamin D levels were more likely to respond positively to immune-based cancer treatments.
Despite the presence of Bacteroides fragilis in the human microbiome, further investigation is needed to determine if vitamin D provides similar cancer immunity benefits through the same mechanism in humans.
“What we’ve shown here came as a surprise — vitamin D can regulate the gut microbiome to favor a type of bacteria which gives mice better immunity to cancer,” said Caetano Reis e Sousa, head of the Immunobiology Laboratory at the Crick, and senior author.
Evangelos Giampazolias, former postdoctoral researcher at the Crick, now at the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute, noted the challenge of defining a “good” microbiome. “We found that vitamin D helps gut bacteria to elicit cancer immunity improving the response to immunotherapy in mice,” Giampazolias said.
Romina Goldszmid, Stadtman Investigator at NCI’s Center For Cancer Research, emphasized the study’s contribution to understanding microbiota’s role in cancer immunity. “Thes findings contribute to the growing body of knowledge on the role of microbiota in cancer immunity and the potential of dietary interventions to fine-tune this relationship for improved patient outcomes,” Goldszmid said.
What’s next
Future research will focus on understanding how vitamin D supports a beneficial microbiome and exploring new ways the microbiome influences the immune system, potentially leading to innovative cancer prevention and treatment strategies.