Vitamin D and Cancer Stem Cells in the Gastrointestinal Tract

Title:Vitamin D and Cancer Stem Cells in the Gastrointestinal Tract

Volume: 24 Issue: 9

Author(s): Ming-Xing Li, Long-Fei Li, Lin Zhang, Zan-Gang Xiao, Jing Shen, Wei Hu, Qiang Zeng and Chi-Hin Cho*

Affiliation:

• School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong,China

Keywords: Vitamin D, gastrointestinal cancer, cancer stem cells, cancer stem cell markers, cancer microenvironment.

Abstract: Vitamin D has been widely used as a dietary supplement for the prevention and treatment of bone disorders. Epidemiological and preclinical studies demonstrated the anticancer action of vitamin D in a variety of cancers including those in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. In these studies the inhibitory action of vitamin D on cancer stem cells (CSCs) has been a focus and is also an important subject to revolutionize the therapeutic potential of vitamin D on cancer treatment. Here, we summarize the involvement of CSC markers and factors and also their signaling pathways in the development of cancers in the esophagus, stomach, colon, pancreas and also liver. It is also evidenced that vitamin D could inhibit these markers and factors and their related signaling pathways to suppress tumor progression. All these information could provide new strategies in repurposing vitamin D as therapeutic agent to inhibit cancers in the GI tract.

Cite this article as:

Li Ming-Xing, Li Long-Fei, Zhang Lin, Xiao Zan-Gang, Shen Jing, Hu Wei, Zeng Qiang and Cho Chi-Hin*, Vitamin D and Cancer Stem Cells in the Gastrointestinal Tract, Current Medicinal Chemistry 2017; 24(9) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/0929867324666170214110633