High-Dose Vitamin D May Ease Chemotherapy- and Radiation-Related Skin Toxicities: Analysis
Key Takeaways
- A multicenter case series suggests high-dose oral vitamin D (100,000 IU) was associated with rapid improvement in chemotherapy- and radiation-related skin toxicities, with most patients reporting symptom relief within 10 days.
- Objective erythema scores improved substantially, with a median time to improvement of 5 days, and no treatment-related adverse events or clinically meaningful changes in serum calcium were observed.
- The retrospective design and lack of a control group were cited as limitations on wider applicability of the data.
High-dose oral vitamin D may offer an option for patients experiencing chemotherapy- and radiation-induced skin toxicities, according to a multicenter case series published in JAMA Dermatology.
Investigators evaluated 33 patients who received one or two 100,000-IU doses of cholecalciferol or ergocalciferol for toxic erythema of chemotherapy (TEC) or acute radiation dermatitis (ARD). The study sought to assess clinical response, time to improvement, safety, and the impact on continuation of anticancer therapy.
High-Dose Vitamin D Shows Rapid Clinical Response in Oncodermatology Case Series
Among the cohort (mean age, 60.9 years; 58% women), 28 patients had TEC and five had ARD. Of the 30 patients with available symptom data, 26 (87%) reported symptomatic improvement within 10 days of treatment. The median time to improvement was 5 days overall and 3 days among hospitalized patients. Clinician-assessed erythema also improved, with mean Likert scores decreasing from 4.36 at baseline to 2.21 by day 10.
The most rapid responses were observed in patients with neutrophilic eccrine hidradenitis and Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis-like presentations. No clinically meaningful changes in serum calcium were detected, no treatment-related adverse events were reported, and 24 of 33 patients (73%) were able to continue anticancer therapy without interruption.
The authors noted that severe cutaneous toxicities frequently compromise cancer treatment, making effective supportive care interventions a clinical priority. However, they emphasized that the findings should be interpreted cautiously given the study's retrospective design, small sample size, and lack of a control group.
"In this case series, hdVD was associated with rapid symptomatic and objective improvement in chemotherapy- and radiation-induced toxic effects of the skin without treatment-related adverse events," the authors wrote. "These findings support further study of hdVD as a supportive care approach in oncodermatology."
Source
Patil M, et al. JAMA Dermatology. 2026. Doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2026.2267