BackVitamin D deficiency found to be associated with risk of aggressive prostate cancer
According to recent research, vitamin D deficiency may increase the likelihood that men at risk of developing prostate cancer will have an aggressive form of this neoplasm (Gleason score of 7-10).
Research published on 1 May 2014 in the medical journal Clinical Cancer Research evaluated the clinical association between vitamin D deficiency and prostate cancer based on prostate biopsy data from patients who had high serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels and a bulky mass detected on finger-rectal examination. Previous studies have focused on comparing vitamin D levels in men with and without prostate cancer.
A total of 667 men between the ages of 40 and 79 in the city of Chicago were surveyed. About half were African American and the rest were European.
Representatives of the Caucasoid race had higher levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25-OH-D) - 19.3 ng/ml, in African Americans - 16.7 ng/ml. This fact is explained by the fact that darker skin contains more melanin, which blocks ultraviolet rays necessary for endogenous synthesis of vitamin D. It is generally accepted that a concentration of 25-OH-D below 12 ng/ml is a pronounced deficiency of the vitamin, 12-20 ng/ml - its insufficiency. More than 20 ng/ml is considered to be a sufficient amount for normal vital activity of the organism.
Prostate cancer was detected in 383 men. Among black African-American men with 25-OH-D levels less than 20 ng/ml, 2.4-fold higher cancer risk was reported. Those patients whose concentration was less than 12 ng/ml aggressive prostate cancer were diagnosed 5 times more often and were 4.2 times more likely to have tumor stage T2b or worse, meaning cancer was present in more than half of one of the prostate lobes.
Among light-skinned European men, no association was found between 25-OH-D levels and overall prostate cancer risk. However, those men whose vitamin D levels were below 12 ng/ml had a 3.7-fold increased risk of having aggressive prostate cancer and a 2.4-fold higher chance of T2b tumor stage.
The scientists concluded that in both groups, low levels of 25-OH-D were associated with aggressive prostate cancer, despite looking at family history, diet, calcium intake, smoking, and being overweight.
Study author Adam Murphy, MD, PhD, concluded, "A more prominent association of vitamin D and prostate cancer in a group of dark-skinned African Americans than in light-skinned Europeans." He also noted that vitamin D supplements help prevent tumor progression in some prostate adenoma patients: "It is advisable to be screened for vitamin D deficiency in the body and prescribe treatment with this in mind."
Original text:
http://newsatjama.jama.com/2014/05/01/vitamin-d-deficiency-may-be-linked-with-aggressive-prostate-cancer/