Researchers
from three U.S. cancer centers said a study has found increased sunlight
exposure helps decrease the risk of prostate cancer.
The study led
by Dr. Esther John of the Northern California Cancer Center found men with
high sun exposure had half the risk of prostate cancer than did men with
low sun exposure.
Researchers
said that in men with certain gene variants, the risk was reduced even
further, to as much as 65 percent.
"We believe
that sunlight helps to reduce the risk of prostate cancer because the body
manufactures the active form of vitamin D from exposure to sunlight," John
said.
Vitamin D is
known to promote normal growth of prostate cells and to inhibit the spread
of prostate cancer cells to other parts of the body.
The researchers
warned men should not try to reduce their risk of prostate cancer by sunbathing
because that raises the risk of sun-induced skin cancers like melanoma.
Findings of
the study, conducted at Northern California Cancer Center, the University
of Southern California and Wake Forest University, appears in the June
15 issue of Cancer Research.
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