Frank C. Garland
| Frank C. Garland | |
|---|---|
Dr Frank Garland
|
|
| Born |
June 20, 1950 San Diego, California |
| Died | August 17, 2010 (aged 60) La Jolla, San Diego, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Fields | Epidemiology |
| Institutions | University of California, San Diego |
| Alma mater | Johns Hopkins University |
Frank Caldwell Garland (June 20, 1950 – August 17, 2010) was an American epidemiologist whose research led to the conclusion that vitamin D deficiency can be a factor increasing risk for breast cancer and colon cancer.
Garland was born on June 20, 1950, in San Diego and earned a bachelor's degree in 1972 from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he majored in history.
In July 1974, Garland and his brother, epidemiologist Cedric F. Garland, attended a lecture at Johns Hopkins University where maps were presented showing higher rates for certain cancers in counties in the Northern United States, approaching double the rate in some Northern U.S. counties than in the South. This disparity led them to investigate the relationship and write the 1980 article Do Sunlight and Vitamin D Reduce the Likelihood of Colon Cancer? published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, in which the brothers put forth the hypothesis that higher rates of colon cancer in Northerners was caused by lower levels of sunlight exposure, which resulted in lower levels of Vitamin D production in the skin and lower levels of circulating 25-hydroxy vitamin D (also known as Calcidiol, 25-hydroxycholecalciferol, abbreviated 25(OH)D) in the blood.
Garland recalled, "When my brother, Cedric, and I looked at one of the first maps produced by the National Cancer Institute of colon cancer incidence rates in the United States, we both immediately noticed a pattern, a distinct North-South gradient in incidence. This pattern changed our professional research careers. Our entire academic lives are based on that single moment." While recognizing the risk of melanoma and other forms of skin cancer from excessive exposure to the Sun, the Garlands proposed that limited sun exposure would provide enough Vitamin D to help prevent colon cancer, which could also be achieved by taking nutritional supplements.
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