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Calcium with vitamin D reduced melanoma risk by more than half in women at high risk
Tang JY. J Clin Oncol. 2011;doi:10.1200/JCO.2011.34.5967.
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Postmenopausal women randomly assigned to daily elemental calcium plus vitamin D developed 57% fewer melanomas than similar women assigned to placebo after 7.5 years.
Postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79 years enrolled in the Women’s Health Initiative were randomly assigned to 1,000 mg of calcium plus 400 IU of vitamin D daily (n=18,176) or placebo (n=18,106). In a pre-specified subgroup analysis, women in the treatment arm with a history of nonmelanoma skin cancers had fewer melanomas compared with placebo (HR=0.43; 95% CI, 0.21-0.90). There was no protective effect for women without that history (HR=1.02; 95% CI, 0.73-1.41).
“In preventive medicine, we want to target people most at risk for the disease,” study researcher Jean Y. Tang, MD, PhD, assistant professor of dermatology at Stanford University, said in a press release. “If you previously had a nonmelanoma skin cancer, calcium plus vitamin D might reduce your risk of the more deadly melanoma.”
Researchers observed no difference for self-reported nonmelanoma skin cancers between the two groups. There were 1,683 cancers diagnosed in the experimental group and 1,655 cases in the placebo group (HR=1.02; 95% CI, 0.95-1.07). Similarly, there was no difference in melanoma incidence between groups, with 82 melanomas reported in the treatment group vs. 94 in the placebo group (HR=0.86; 95% CI, 0.64-1.16).
Researchers are planning multiple lines of study to examine the potential relationship between vitamin D and cancer prevention, including a study comparing blood levels of vitamin D with melanoma outcomes. Another study will evaluate the effect of larger doses of vitamin D on the behavior of skin cells in patients with a high risk of skin cancer.
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