Vitamin D Effects on Prostate Pathology

There is much interest in understanding the role that vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) plays in various cancers, and in the prognosis of various cancers once they are discovered. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of vitamin D on prostate cancer-associated lesions and on vitamin D metabolites in prostate tissue. We will give vitamin D3 to men when they are scheduled to have their prostate removed because of cancer. The men will take vitamin D at one of 3 doses for 4-6 weeks, until the surgery is performed. We will compare the prostate tissue taken from the men receiving the higher doses of vitamin D to tissue from men assigned to the lower doses. We expect to find that the prostate removed at surgery from men who received the high-dose vitamin D treatment will appear more normal, and less cancer like. In addition, we will measure vitamin D metabolites in the prostate to confirm that these did accumulate in the prostate to bring about the effects observed.