Groundbreaking research has given birth to a new theory about the way healthy cells become cancerous. This new hypothesis hinges on the fact that, unlike normal cells, cancer cells are unable to attach to each other and stick together, which means they can't communicate among themselves.

This new model (dubbed DINOMIT) differs substantially from the current genetics/mutation model of cancer development. It proposes first that a cancerous mass begins to form wherever normal cells have lost their ability to communicate with each other, which healthy cells must be able to do if they are going to be able to replicate themselves.

A scientific stunner
The researchers from the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego, suggest that this loss of contact between cells is due to, among other things, low levels of vitamin D and calcium.

While studying how vitamin D heads off various problems inside the body, the researchers happened onto a stunner: When normal cells can't connect with one another, the more aggressive cancer cells start moving in and taking over.

Lead researcher Cedric Garland, Dr.PH, professor of family and preventive medicine at the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, said that while no definitive scientific proof of this hypothesis yet exists, the study suggests that if our cells can't get enough vitamin D they may lose their "stickiness" and even their identity, reverting back to a stem cell-like state. Conversely, vitamin D might be able to nip cancer in the bud by restoring the cells' ability to stick together and communicate properly with one another.

Past studies corroborate some findings
More than 200 epidemiological studies do indeed validate a link between vitamin D and certain types of cancers, and many others have likewise suggested that vitamin D and calcium appear to reduce cancer risk and boost survival of patients with breast, colorectal, and prostate cancer. This new study, however, takes things much further.

As we all know, diet and supplements can restore appropriate vitamin D levels; Garland notes that modest supplementation with vitamin D3 in the range of 2000 IU/day is sufficient. (See: Do Vitamin D Supplements Prevent Cancer?)

So, ladies, it's summer time! Get your vitamin D3 from walks in the sunlight (as much, that is, as your sunblock will allow you to get), as well as from food and vitamin supplements. We've got to help our cells stick together!