Vitamin D Blood Levels Linked to Reduced Cancer Risk in Women

by | Jul 6, 2016 | 2016, Cancer, Vitamin D - Cancer, Women's Health

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. A new study revealed that serum vitamin D levels higher than 40 nanograms /milliliter significantly reduced the overall cancer risk by 67% compared to vitamin D levels less than 20 ng/ml.

Vitamin D

In the United States, more than 1.68 million new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in 2016, resulting in 600,000 deaths (1). In 2010, $125 billion was spent on cancer care in the United States, and this total is expected to increase to $150 billion by 2020 (1). Worldwide, 14 million new cases of cancer were diagnosed in 2012, resulting in 8.2 million deaths (1). Statistics like these make prevention, not treatment, a primary focus.

Now a new study (2) suggests that maintaining vitamin D blood levels may be effective in helping minimize cancer risk in women. In the study, researchers examined data from two different studies:

  • The Lappe cohort (3), in which 1,169 women over the age of 55 received calcium (1400 milligrams/day of calcium citrate or 1500 mg/day of calcium carbonate), calcium plus vitamin D (calcium carbonate/citrate plus 1000 IU/day of vitamin D3), or placebo (control group).
  • The Grassroots Health cohort (4,) in which 1,135 women over the age of 55 did not receive any supplementation for the study but instead completed health questionnaires every 6 months that included asking about their own supplementation habits as well as lifestyle habits.

Each group was following for an average of 3.9 years, examining both cancer incidence as well and vitamin D blood levels and their possible effect on cancer incidence. The researchers found a significant association between higher vitamin D blood levels and reduced cancer incidence, with vitamin D blood levels >40 nanograms/milliliter reducing overall cancer risk by 67% compared to those with vitamin D blood levels <20 ng/mL (p = 0.03). Statistical significance was not reached for women with vitamin D blood levels between 20 and 39 ng/mL (p = 0.18), nor for women taking more than 1,000 mg/day of calcium (p = 0.45).

Unfortunately, the researchers did not provide data regarding absorption of calcium carbonate versus citrate. As calcium carbonate contains 40% elemental calcium (which is what the body actually absorbs) while calcium citrate contains 21% elemental calcium (6), absorption rates should be twice as high with calcium carbonate versus calcium citrate, thought this was not discussed.

The researchers also did not discuss the specific amount of vitamin D supplementation needed to achieve blood levels greater than 40 ng/mL, only that the 400 IU/day used in previous research (5) “is unlikely to raise vitamin D blood concentrations to a sufficient status.”

For the researchers, “Increasing vitamin D blood concentrations to a minimum of 40 ng/ml could substantially reduce cancer incidence and associated mortality in the population” and that “Primary prevention of cancer, rather than solely expanding early detection or improving treatment, will be essential for reversing the current upward trend of cancer incidence worldwide; this analysis suggests that improving vitamin D status is a key prevention tool.”

Source: McDonnell SL. Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentrations ≥40 ng/ml Are Associated with >65% Lower Cancer Risk: Pooled Analysis of Randomized Trial and Prospective Cohort Study. PLoS One 2016 Apr 6;11(4):e0152441. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152441. eCollection 2016

Posted July 5, 2016.

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY.  You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com.

References:

  1. “Cancer Statistics” posted on the National Cancer Institute Website
  2. McDonnell SL. Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentrations ≥40 ng/ml Are Associated with >65% Lower Cancer Risk: Pooled Analysis of Randomized Trial and Prospective Cohort Study. PLoS One 2016 Apr 6;11(4):e0152441. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152441. eCollection 2016
  3. Lappe JM, Travers-Gustafson D, Davies KM, Recker RR, Heaney RP. Vitamin D and calcium supplementation reduces cancer risk: results of a randomized trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Jun; 85(6):1586–91
  4. Garland S. Vitamin D Supplement Doses and Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D in the Range Associated with Cancer Prevention. Posted on the GrassRootsHealth website
  5. Neuhouser ML, Manson JE, Millen A, Pettinger M, Margolis K, Jacobs ET, et al. The influence of health and lifestyle characteristics on the relation of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D with risk of colorectal and breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Am J Epidemiol. 2012 Apr 1; 175(7):673–84
  6. “Who should consider calcium supplementation?” posted on the Mayo Clinic website