Frank Caldwell Garland (June 20, 1950 – August 17, 2010) was an American

epidemiologist Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and risk factor, determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decision ...

whose research led to the conclusion that

vitamin D deficiency Vitamin D deficiency or hypovitaminosis D is a vitamin D level that is below normal. It most commonly occurs in people when they have inadequate exposure to sunlight, particularly sunlight with adequate ultraviolet B rays (UVB). Vitamin D defic ...

can be a factor increasing risk for

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

and

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...

Biography

Garland was born on June 20, 1950, in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

and earned a bachelor's degree in 1972 from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, where he majored in history. In July 1974, Garland and his brother, epidemiologist Cedric F. Garland, attended a lecture at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

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 The ''International Journal of Epidemiology'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering research in epidemiology. It is the official journal of the International Epidemiological Association and is published by Oxford University Press. ...

'', 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 Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble secosteroids responsible for increasing intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium, and phosphate, and many other biological effects. In humans, the most important compounds in this group are vitamin D3 (c ...

production in the skin and lower levels of circulating 25-hydroxy vitamin D (also known as calcidiol and 25-hydroxycholecalciferol.Fox, Margalit
"Frank C. Garland, 60, Who Connected Vitamin D Deficiency and Cancer, Dies"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', September 4, 2010. 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 Melanoma, also redundantly known as malignant melanoma, is a type of skin cancer that develops from the pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. Melanomas typically occur in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye ( ...

and other forms of

skin cancer Skin cancers are cancers that arise from the skin. They are due to the development of abnormal cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. There are three main types of skin cancers: basal-cell skin cancer (BCC) ...

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.

Education and early career

Garland was awarded a doctorate in 1981 from Johns Hopkins University and pursued a career as an epidemiologist at the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...

, where he was hired in 1986 as professor of

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

and

preventive medicine Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, consists of measures taken for the purposes of disease prevention.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental hea ...

Published work

His later research connected deficiencies in vitamin D in residents of Northern cities with chronic disease outcomes including

type 1 diabetes Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that originates when cells that make insulin (beta cells) are destroyed by the immune system. Insulin is a hormone required for the cells to use blood sugar for ...

and higher incidence rates of

and other cancers. Another of their studies which analyzed the blood from 25,000 volunteers from

Washington County, Maryland Washington County is located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 154,705. Its county seat is Hagerstown. Washington County was the first county in the United States to be named for the ...

found that those with the highest levels of the vitamin D

metabolite In biochemistry, a metabolite is an intermediate or end product of metabolism. The term is usually used for small molecules. Metabolites have various functions, including fuel, structure, signaling, stimulatory and inhibitory effects on enzymes, c ...

calcifediol Calcifediol, also known as calcidiol, 25-hydroxycholecalciferol, or 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (abbreviated 25(OH)D3), is a form of vitamin D produced in the liver by hydroxylation of vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) by the enzyme vitamin D 25-hydroxylas ...

had a risk of colon cancer that was one-fifth of typical rates. In a study of residents of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

conducted over two decades, the Garlands found that the colon cancer incidence in the quintile with the highest vitamin D intake was half that of those in the lowest quintile. Theirs was the first study to show that higher levels of vitamin D could cut rates of colon cancer. Garland co-authored two books with Frank Garland, ''The Calcium Connection'' (1988) and ''The Calcium Diet'' (1990).Abraham, Rachel. (1990). ''Book Reviews: The Calcium Diet, by Dr Cedric Garland and Dr Frank Garland''. ''

Royal Society for Public Health Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) is an independent, multi-disciplinary charity dedicated to the improvement of the public's health. RSPH helps inform policy and practice, working to educate, empower and support communities and individuals ...

'' 110 (6): 227.

Personal life

A resident of San Diego, Garland died at age 60 on August 17, 2010, at

Thornton Hospital UC San Diego Health is the academic health system of the University of California, San Diego in San Diego, California. It is the only academic health system serving San Diego and has one of only two adult Level I trauma centers in the region. In ...

La Jolla, San Diego, California LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

, due to cancer of the esophageal junction.Maugh II, Thomas H
"Frank C. Garland dies at 60; epidemiologist helped show importance of vitamin D: Garland and his brother Cedric were the first to demonstrate that vitamin D deficiencies play a role in cancer and other diseases."
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', August 31, 2010. Accessed September 4, 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garland, Frank C. 1950 births 2010 deaths Deaths from throat cancer in California Diet food advocates American epidemiologists Johns Hopkins University alumni People from San Diego University of California, Los Angeles alumni University of California, San Diego faculty Deaths from esophageal cancer in California