Vitamin D supplementation appears to be potential for reducing risks of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic diseases, existing evidence on its benefits and risks is inadequate and debatable. Questions remain as to whether supplementation of Vitamin D playing any role in the above mentioned diseases. In the absence of compelling evidence for benefit, taking supplement is producing any risk or not. While sorting the various positive and negative claims for Vitamin D, it attracts an urgent need for further research and review on reports to answer fundamental questions about the risks and benefits of supplementation. There still remains a great need to advance our understanding regarding the effectiveness of Vitamin D. This review gives an overview on disputes of Vitamin D supplementation that is convincing and interventional regarding burning issues of Vitamin D therapy. Beyond its use to prevent osteomalacia or rickets, the evidence for other health effects of vitamin D supplementation in the general inhabitants is conflicting. It is a well known predictability that any effective substance also has unwanted side effects, so clear cut evidence regarding the safety is required before supplementing Vitamin D for pathological conditions and other health benefits.
Curcumin, the yellow pigment derived from turmeric rhizomes, exhibits antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anticancer properties. We have previously reported in a study that curcumin could induce differentiation in embryonal carcinoma cell (EC). EC cells are the primary constituents of teratocarcinoma tumors, and hence differentiating them to a non-proliferative cell type may be useful in anticancer therapies. Here, we conducted a detailed study using various molecular approaches to characterize this differentiation at the cellular and molecular levels. The cells were treated with 20 µM curcumin, which was the optimal concentration to produce the highest amount of differentiated cells. Changes in protein and RNA expression, membrane dynamics, and migration of these cells after treatment with curcumin were then studied in a time-dependent manner. The differentiated cells were morphologically distinct from the precursor cells, and gene expression profiles were altered in curcumin-treated cells. Curcumin promoted cell motility and cell adhesion. Curcumin also induced changes in membrane fluidity and the lateral mobility of lipids in the plasma membrane. The findings of this study suggest that curcumin might have therapeutic potential in differentiation therapy for the treatment of teratocarcinomas or germ cell tumors (GCTs) such as testicular and ovarian GCTs.
Malignant melanoma, primarily a cutaneous malignancy, can also involve mucosal surfaces and constitutes 2% to 7% of all gynecological malignancies. Primary melanoma of the uterine cervix is an uncommon tumor and has poor prognosis. In the female genital tract, the synchronous occurrence of primary malignant melanoma in the cervix and vagina is rare. We report a case of a 48-year-old female patient who presented with a blackish vaginal mass and associated growth in the cervix. Biopsy from the vaginal mass was reported as malignant melanoma. Following this, she underwent radical surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy. After 12 months, the patient is doing well.