June 2006 follow up: "Is melanoma simply a Vitamin D deficiency cancer?"

TO: All melanoma researchers, doctors, and patients.

A few years ago a study found the survival rate of melanoma on the
foot--the most common foot malignancy--to be just 1 in 2, significantly
worse than that elsewhere on the leg. (See Journal of Foot and Ankle
Surgery. 2003 Jul-Aug;42(4):193-8.) Why the foot?

The feet are habitually hidden in shoes and socks--especially when
outdoors--which block natural light from reaching the sole or between
the toes; inadequate sunlight means inadequate Vitamin D3 in the skin.
Furthermore, shoes and socks do not permit full range of motion in the
feet, and they chronically compress the blood vessels particularly
along the top of the feet; both restrictions result in reduced foot
circulation, and inadequate circulation means inadequate Vitamin D3 in
the skin.

Note that the study spanned about 30 years, but the majority of the
foot melanomas were diagnosed in its last decade. Indeed, during the
1990's, shoes became more deforming and less expensive, thereby
contributing to an increased incidence of pedal melanoma via the
resultant deficiency in Vitamin D.

James Semmel
Albuquerque, New Mexico


reference:
http://www.mpip.org/bb/shtml/333771.shtml
Last month's follow up to the 3rd annual discussion: "Is melanoma
simply a Vitamin D deficiency cancer?"

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