维生素 D 是人体必需的脂溶性维生素，属于类固醇衍生物。维生素 D 的许多生物学功能都是通过其受体介导调 节靶基因转录来实现的。已发现维生素 D 缺乏与多种肿瘤的发生、发展相关，充足的维生素 D 水平可降低多种肿瘤的发生 率，并能改善某些肿瘤患者的存活率及预后。维生素D 及其类似物不仅能调节体内钙磷代谢，而且可通过抑制肿瘤细胞增 殖、诱导细胞分化、促进细胞凋亡、抗血管生成、抑制肿瘤细胞浸润与转移以及抑制炎症等方式来发挥抗肿瘤作用。然而， EC 患病风险与维生素D 水平之间的相关性仍存在争议。不同研究中维生素D 与 EC 患病风险相关性的显著差异可能与研 究对象的性别，年龄及EC的分型、分化等组织学特征有关。相关体外及动物模型研究表明，维生素D能抑制EC细胞增殖。 另有学者发现，EC 患者中 VDR 高表达者预后较好，VDR 基因的多态性可能与 EC 相关。本文主要就维生素 D 及其受体的 结构、功能和抗肿瘤作用机制以及其与 EC 关系的研究作一综述。

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin essential to human body. Many of the biological functions of vitamin D are mediated by vitamin D receptor (VDR), which regulates the transcription of target genes. It has been found that vitamin D deficiency is associated with the development of a variety of tumors, while vitamin D supplement may reduce the incidence of a variety of tumors, and improve the survival rate and prognosis of some tumors. It has been documented that vitmin D and its analogues can not only regulate calcium and phosphorus metabolism, but also play an anticancer role by inhibiting tumor cell proliferation, inducing tumor cell differentiation or apoptosis, anti-angiogenesis, inhibiting malignant cell transfer and inhibiting inflammation. However, the association between the prevalence of esophageal cancer (EC) and vitamin D levels remains controversial. The significant differences in the risk of vitamin D and EC in different studies may be related to the gender, age, and the histological characteristics of EC. In vitro and animal model studies showed that vitamin D could inhibit the proliferation of EC cells. It has also been found that EC patients with high expression of VDR have a good prognosis, VDR gene polymorphism may be associated with EC. This review present the current opinions on the structure, function, anti-tumor mechanism of vitamin D and its receptor, and its roles in the carcinogenesis of esophageal cancer.