A Frontiers in Nutrition study of 513 women with breast cancer found that persistent or worsening vitamin D deficiency was linked to poorer event-free survival, suggesting repeated testing may provide more useful prognostic information than a single measurement.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Tracking vitamin D levels over the course of breast cancer treatment may provide a clearer picture of patient outcomes than measuring vitamin D only once, according to a new study published in Frontiers in Nutrition.
Researchers followed 513 women with invasive breast cancer and found that vitamin D status over time was more strongly linked to prognosis than a single baseline reading. Nearly 90% of patients were either deficient or insufficient when first tested, and those whose vitamin D levels remained low or worsened had significantly poorer event-free survival.
The study adds to a broader body of research examining the role of vitamin D in breast cancer risk and outcomes. Vitamin D is involved in cellular function, including immune cell activity, researchers noted.
Earlier findings have also associated adequate vitamin D levels with reduced breast cancer risk. Ian Wishart reported in “Vitamin D: Is This the Miracle Vitamin?” that one study found younger women with good vitamin D levels lowered their risk of developing breast cancer by 40%, while older women saw a 63% reduction [1].
In the new analysis, vitamin D levels were measured at three stages: before treatment, during treatment and after treatment. Patients were followed for an average of 38 months.
Researchers used group-based trajectory modeling, a statistical method that identifies patients with similar patterns of change over time. That analysis found six vitamin D patterns among participants: consistently sufficient, insufficient, deficient, improving, worsening and fluctuating.
Those patterns were then sorted into three risk categories: low, medium and high.
Patients in the high-risk category had significantly worse event-free survival than those in the low-risk category, even after researchers adjusted for age, tumor stage and molecular subtype. The findings indicated that vitamin D trajectory was an independent prognostic factor.
The connection between vitamin D and breast cancer outcomes has long been studied in relation to sunlight exposure, a major natural source of vitamin D. Joseph E. Pizzorno and Michael T. Murray noted in the “Textbook of Natural Medicine” that geographic differences in breast cancer mortality have been linked to solar radiation exposure [2].
The new study emphasized that vitamin D status can shift over time. It may be affected by sun exposure, diet, supplementation and cancer treatment, which can alter metabolism.
Because of those changes, researchers said a single reading at diagnosis may provide only limited information. Repeated measurements, they concluded, can better show whether a patient’s vitamin D status is improving, remaining stable or deteriorating during treatment.
Mercola.com has reported that the body can produce up to 25,000 IU of vitamin D on a typical sunny day, while standard U.S. dietary recommendations are only 600 to 800 IU [3]. The difference underscores why vitamin D levels may vary widely among individuals and why deficiency may persist without monitoring.
The study authors said vitamin D is a modifiable factor that can be measured through routine blood testing and addressed through supplementation or dietary changes.
Other research has suggested vitamin D may also play a role during cancer treatment. An article on Mercola.com cited a study of 25,871 patients that found vitamin D supplementation reduced the risk of metastatic cancer and death by 17%, and by 38% among healthy-weight participants [4].
The new findings support monitoring vitamin D during treatment and into remission, researchers said.
Susan Rex Ryan’s “Defend Your Life” also concluded that vitamin D deficiency is common among breast cancer survivors and recommended monitoring and appropriate treatment [5].
The study does not establish that vitamin D alone determines breast cancer outcomes, but it suggests that worsening or persistent deficiency may identify patients at higher risk of adverse events.
Researchers concluded that vitamin D trajectory may offer meaningful prognostic information and that correcting deficiency is a practical intervention worth considering as part of broader nutritional monitoring during breast cancer care.
Source: Natural News
Original article
Comments