Study Confirms Vitamin D’s Benefit to Breast Cell Health

by | Mar 28, 2013 | 2013, Breast Cancer, Cancer, Vitamin D - Cancer, Women's Health

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Research demonstrates an association of lower vitamin D blood levels with increased risk of breast cancer.

The National Cancer Institute estimates there were 229,060 new cases of breast cancer and 39,920 new deaths from breast cancer in 2012 (1), while the American Cancer Society estimates the cost of cancer to be $226 billion per year, with 1 in 4 U.S. deaths each year attributable to cancer (2).

Vitamin D has gained increased attention in helping maintain overall cell health as cells have a receptor for Vitamin D which helps control cell division and even promotes a healthy form of cell death called “apoptosis”. Research has also found increasing breast cancer rates as the distance from the equator increases (3, 4, 5), suggesting a link between vitamin D and breast cancer. Now a new Australian study (6) has again presented more evidence of vitamin D’s benefit to breast cell health.

In the study, 214 Australian women newly diagnosed with breast cancer had blood levels of vitamin D measured and were matched with 852 women with no breast cancer between August 2008 and July 2010. The researchers, classified vitamin D blood levels as follows:

  • “Sufficient” = >75 nanomoles/liter
  • “Insufficient” = 50–74 nmol/L
  • “Deficient” = 25–49 nmol/L
  • “Severely deficient” = <25 nmol/L

There is currently a lack of agreement regarding the optimal vitamin D concentration for prevention of non-bone related disease like cancer. While the Institute of Medicine in the United States suggests 50 nmol/L as the optimal level (7), other research suggests a minimum of 75 nmol/L (8, 9, 10).

The odds ratios (the odds of developing breast cancer/odds of not developing breast cancer) were consistently higher in individuals classified as having severely deficient, deficient and insufficient vitamin D blood levels for both under 50 and over 50 age groups, as well as obese and non-obese women. The chart below indicates the odds ratios for breast cancer according to vitamin D level, age and weight.

Vitamin D Blood Levels

 Overall odds ratio Age <50 Age ≥50 BMI <30 BMI ≥30

Severely deficient

 2.3 3.4 2.2 2.3 2.4

Deficient

 2.5 4.2 2.2 1.9 3.8

Insufficient

 2.5 4.1 2.2 2.1 3.2
p<0.01 p<0.05 p<0.05 p<0.05 p<0.05

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The results indicate that there is a 2.5 increased odds of developing breast cancer in individuals that are deficient in vitamin D blood levels. The researchers found that among those that were severely deficient, deficient and insufficient there was an increased risk of developing breast cancer in women under 50 years of age, which indicate a relationship between vitamin D concentration and age. In addition, the risk of developing breast cancer was higher in women that were obese compared to non-obese women.

The researchers cited research showing every 4.4 nmol/L increase in vitamin D blood levels  decreased breast cancer risk by 41% (11) and a 44% lower risk of breast cancer occurred  in women with vitamin D blood levels > 85 nmol/L when compared to women with vitamin D levels < 50 nmol/L (12). They concluded that “a [vitamin D blood level] below 75 nmol/L at diagnosis was associated with a significantly higher risk of breast cancer” and that “these results support previous research which has shown that lower [vitamin D blood levels] are associated with increased risk of breast cancer.”

Source: Bilinski, K., and J. Boyages. “Association between 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration and breast cancer risk in an Australian population: an observational case–control study.” Breast cancer research and treatment 137.2 (2013): 599-607.

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2012

Posted March 28, 2013.

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. “The Economic Impact of Cancer” form the American Cancer Society Website.
  2. “Breast Cancer” posted on the National Cancer Institute Website.
  3. Mohr SB.  Relationship between low ultraviolet B irradiance and higher breast cancer risk in 107 countries. Breast J 2008; 14(3):255–260.
  4. Gorham ED.  Sunlight and breast cancer incidence in the USSR. Int J Epidemiol 1990; 19(4):820–824.
  5. Rejnmark L.  Reduced prediagnostic 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in women with breast cancer: a nested case-control study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2009; 18(10):2655–2660.
  6. Bilinski K.  Association between 25 hydroxyvitamin D concentration and breast cancer risk in an Australian population: an observational case-control study. Breast Cancer Res Treat 2013 Jan;137(2):599-607. doi: 10.1007/s10549-012-2381-1. Epub 2012 Dec 14.
  7. Medicine IIo.  Dietary reference intakes for calcium and vitamin D. The National Academies, Washington, 2011.
  8. Bischoff-Ferrari HA.  Estimation of optimal serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D for multiple health outcomes. Am J Clin Nutr 2006;  84(1):18–28.
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  10. Heaney RP.  Optimal Vitamin D Status. J Bone Miner Res 2008;  24(4):755.
  11. Yin L.  Meta-analysis: serum vitamin D and breast cancer risk. Eur J Cancer 2010; 46(12):2196–2205.
  12. Crew KD.  Association between plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D and breast cancer risk. Cancer Prev Res 2009 (Phila) 2(6):598–604.