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Vitamin D deficiency linked to prostate cancer
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Vitamin D deficiency was associated with an increased risk for prostate cancer among black men, and severe deficiency was associated with more aggressive disease among non-Hispanic white and black men, according to study results.
“Vitamin D is a steroid hormone that is known to affect the growth and differentiation of benign and malignant prostate cells in prostate cell lines and in animal models of prostate cancer,” researcher Adam B. Murphy, MD, MBA, assistant professor in the department of urology of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said in a press release. “In our study, vitamin D deficiency seemed to be a predictor of aggressive forms of prostate cancer diagnosis in European-American and African-American men.”
Murphy and colleagues evaluated prostate biopsies and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OH D) levels from 667 men aged 40 to 79 years.
The prostate biopsies appeared positive for cancer in 383 men.
Black men with 25-OH D ˂20 ng/mL were more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer on their biopsies than men with higher vitamin D levels (OR=2.43; 95% CI, 1.20-4.94).
Severe vitamin D deficiency — defined as 25-OH D ˂12 ng/mL — was associated with prostate cancer with a Gleason score ≥ 4+4 among black (OR=4.89; 95% CI, 1.59-15.07) and non-Hispanic white men (OR=3.66; 95% CI, 1.41-9.50). Severe vitamin D deficiency was also associated with a tumor stage ≥T2b among black (OR=4.22; 95% CI, 1.52-11.74) and non-Hispanic white men (OR=2.42; 95% CI, 1.14-5.10).
“We will next evaluate genetic polymorphisms in the pathways of vitamin D metabolism to better understand the risk alleles underlying this association,” Murphy said. “Vitamin D deficiency seems to be important for general wellness and may be involved in the formation or progression of several human cancers.”
Disclosure: One researcher reports consultant/advisory board roles with and research funding from Beckman Coulter, DeCode Genetics and Ohmx.
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