# Vitamin D in viral associated lung cancers

> **NIH NIH R01** · TULANE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA · 2022 · $167,188

## Abstract

SUMMARY
In recent years, the incidence of AIDS-defining cancers has dramatically decreased due to the highly active
antiretroviral therapy (HAART). In contrast, the incidence of the non-AIDS-defining cancers (NADC), especially
lung cancer (LC) has risen by more than 3 fold. In the U.S., LC has become the most common NADC with an
incidence rate of 204 cases per 100,000 person-years. LC is also the most common NADC cause of death and
accounts for 21% of cancer-related death in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected population.
Thus, there is an unmet need to understand the underlying mechanism of this deadly disease and develop
more effective therapeutic strategy. Unlike other common HIV associated cancers such as cervical cancer,
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and Kaposi's sarcoma, HIV associated LCs do not have an established viral
etiology. Our parent R01 study (R01CA261258) shows that human papillomavirus (HPV) is causally associated
with LCs in the HIV(+) population, which adds conceptually to our understanding of HIV associated LCs and
provides potentially unique therapeutic opportunities. Based on strong preliminary evidence from both
published literatures and our new experimental data, we now hypothesize that Vitamin D (VitD) as an important
dietary nutrient plays a critical role in lung carcinogenesis in the HIV(+) population. In this administrative
supplement, we propose to investigate VitD's anti-tumorigenic role and therapeutic potential for HIV associated
LCs using our unique animal model system. We will examine an important concept of reversing the
HIV/HAART-induced VitD insufficiency/deficiency by dietary VitD supplementation can improve the prognosis
of HIV/HPV associated LCs. Successful completion of the supplement work can significantly enhance the
parent R01 study by further elucidating the underlying mechanism of this lethal disease and ultimately benefit
many HIV associated LC patients.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10604870
- **Project number:** 3R01CA261258-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** TULANE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
- **Principal Investigator:** Zhen Lin
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $167,188
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2022-04-01 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10604870

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10604870, Vitamin D in viral associated lung cancers (3R01CA261258-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10604870. Licensed CC0.

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