Results also showed that increased sun exposure may reduce ovarian cancer risk in this population. While separate research (Holick, 2011) shows Caucasian women need only five to 15 minutes of mid-day sun during spring, summer and fall to achieve an adequate amount of vitamin D production, African-American women need exposure five to 10 times longer due to their skin pigment. The current study’s lead author, Rutgers Cancer Institute researcher Bo “Bonnie” Qin, PhD, is aware of the risks for skin cancer. “Because the benefits of increased sun exposure in African-American women may be offset by an increased risk of skin cancer, a combination of moderate sun exposure coupled with sufficient vitamin D intake from diet and supplements may be a safer solution for adequate vitamin D levels,” notes Dr. Qin.
The study’s senior author Elisa Bandera, MD, PhD, who is co-leader of the Cancer Prevention and Control Program at Rutgers Cancer Institute, notes this research adds to the scarce literature on causes of ovarian cancer in the African-American population. “Given that we were able to recruit a large sample of healthy African-American women and those with ovarian cancer from various geographic regions with diverse socioeconomic and lifestyle characteristics, we are able to generalize our findings to the African-American population,” says Dr. Bandera, who is also a professor of medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and a professor of epidemiology at Rutgers School of Public Health. “Considering there is no effective screening tool for ovarian cancer and that African-American patients have poor survival rates with this disease, prevention through lifestyle or dietary modifications is critical.”
The study was supported by the New Jersey Commission on Cancer Research and the National Cancer Institute. Other support and acknowledgements can be found here: http://www.nature.com/bjc/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/bjc2016289a.html.
About Rutgers Cancer Institute of New JerseyRutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey (www.cinj.org) is the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. As part of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, the Cancer Institute of New Jersey is dedicated to improving the detection, treatment and care of patients with cancer, and to serving as an education resource for cancer prevention. Physician-scientists at Rutgers Cancer Institute engage in translational research, transforming their laboratory discoveries into clinical practice. To make a tax-deductible gift to support the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, call 848-932-8013 or visit www.cinj.org/giving. Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheCINJ.
The Cancer Institute of New Jersey Network is comprised of hospitals throughout the state and provides the highest quality cancer care and rapid dissemination of important discoveries into the community. Flagship Hospital: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. System Partner: Meridian Health (Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Ocean Medical Center, Riverview Medical Center, Southern Ocean Medical Center, and Bayshore Community Hospital). Affiliate Hospitals: JFK Medical Center, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton (CINJ Hamilton), and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset.
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