The There has been a lot of evidence that suggests that vitamin D plays an important part in the prevention and fighting of melanoma. This may seem surprising since the main way people get vitamin D is through exposure to the sun, and sun exposure is something commonly know to cause skin cancer.
The key distinction is between sun exposure and sun over-exposure. In other words, normal sun exposure has not been shown to have any negative effect on melanoma, and in fact, due to the positive effect of producing vitamin D, has actually been show to reduce the risk of melanoma(1). However, over-exposure (i.e. sunburning) has been shown to have a negative effect and is correlated to higher risk of developing melanoma.
There have been many scientific studies done that show the D3 version of vitamin D can be very helpful for some in fighting melanoma. It has been show in some melanoma lines, to stop the melanoma from growing (3), (4), (6), (7). It has also been shown that other mechanisms help to kill melanoma cells(5). Further, another study showed decreased levels of vitamin D3 are associated with increased risk of melanoma. Hence, while it is certainly not guaranteed to work, vitamin D3 should be seriously considered as something to take when fighting melanoma, or trying to prevent its recurrence.
