Journal of Pharmacy and Nutrition Sciences, 2021, 11, 123-133 123 Published by SET Publisher Journal of Pharmacy and Nutrition Sciences ISSN (online): 1927-5951 The Role of Vitamin D in Preventing Colorectal Carcinogenesis: A Review of Molecular Mechanisms Fauzan Herdian 1 , Fahmi Radityamurti 1 , Tiara Bunga Mayang Permata 1 , Handoko Handoko 1 , Henry Kodrat 1 , Endang Nuryadi 1 , Heri Wibowo 2 and Soehartati Gondhowiardjo 1,* 1 Department of Radiation Oncology, Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo National General Hospital, Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia 2 Laboratorium Terpadu, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia Article Info: Keywords: Vitamin D, Colorectal Cancer, Carcinogenesis, Review. Timeline: Received: September 11, 2021 Accepted: November 11, 2021 Published: November 15, 2021 Citation: Herdian F, Radityamurti F, Permata TBM, Handoko H, Kodrat H, Nuryadi E, Wibowo H, Gondhowiardjo S. The role of vitamin D in preventing colorectal carcinogenesis: A review of molecular mechanisms. J Pharm Nutr Sci 2021; 11: 123-133. Abstract: Introduction: Colorectal carcinoma is one of the cancers with a high disease burden globally. Previous observational studies have found a connection between colorectal cancer incidence with sunlight exposure and vitamin D levels. Subsequent studies investigated this relationship further and found various anti-tumoral pathways regulated by vitamin D in colorectal tissue. This paper aims to elucidate the actions of those pathways in preventing the malignant transformation of the colorectal cell by reviewing relevant literature. Methods: A search was conducted on several medical literature electronic databases for original research studying the effects of vitamin D treatment on colorectal adenoma and colorectal cancer and its underlying anti-tumoral mechanism. A total of 122 studies were included for evaluation. Results: Twenty-seven studies passed for analysis. These in vitro and in vivo study reveals that vitamin D treatment can suppress cell proliferation, induce apoptosis, maintain cellular differentiation, reduce the pro-inflammatory response, inhibit angiogenesis, and hinder metastatic progression in colorectal cancer and colorectal adenoma cells by regulating associated gene transcription or directly prevents activation of selected signalling pathways. Five studies have also shown that adding calcium to vitamin D treatment increases the anti-tumoral activity of vitamin D through cross-talk between both of their pathways. Conclusion: Vitamin D could potentially impede colorectal cancer transformation and growth through interaction with various signalling pathways and regulating gene transcription. Further clinical studies are needed to confirm whether vitamin D can be used as the basis of targeted colorectal cancer therapy using its inherent anti-tumoral properties. DOI: https://doi.org/10.29169/1927-5951.2021.11.15 *Corresponding Author Tel: (62)(21) 392-11-55 E-mail: gondhow@gmail.com © 2021 Herdian et al.; Licensee SET Publisher. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ ) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.