Head and neck tumors may be better treated if chemotherapy is combined with vitamin D administration.
Doctors from the University of Mainz discovered this together with colleagues from Egypt.
The scientists treated cancer cells with the common cytostatic cisplatin and additionally with vitamin D.
If the cells are exposed to both active substances, they form more of the so-called BIM protein.
This "suicide protein" initiates programmed cell death.
It is part of the natural protective program of cells, which is often inactivated in therapy-resistant cancer.
Tumors of the throat, larynx, lips and oral cavity are often difficult to treat because they are very aggressive, are located in places that are difficult to access and often return after removal.
"With our results, we are laying an important foundation for further clinical research into combined vitamin D chemotherapy," says Aya Khamis, first author of the study.
Research group leader Roland Stauber adds that it is now necessary to find out whether the findings can be transferred to other types of tumors such as breast and colon cancer.
In the experiments, vitamin D alone had no effect on the survival of the cancer cells.
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