Research Shows Vitamin D Levels Associated with Survival in Lymphoma Patients
Research presented at the 51st Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American Society of Hematology in New Orleans shows that vitamin D levels in patients being treated for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLCBL) are strongly associated with cancer progression and overall survival. DLBCL is the most common subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Mayo Clinic and University of Iowa researchers evaluated serum vitamin D concentrations in 374 DLBCL patients, newly diagnosed between September 2002 and February 2008, who were prospectively enrolled in the University of Iowa/Mayo Clinic Lymphoma SPORE Molecular Epidemiology Resource, an epidemiologic study designed to identify predictors of outcomes in lymphoma. Since this was not a clinical trial, patient management and treatments were not assigned, but rather followed standard of care for clinical practice.
The researchers found that 50% of patients had deficient vitamin D levels based on the commonly used clinical value of total serum 25(OH)D <25 ng/mL. Further, patients with deficient vitamin D levels had a 1.5-fold greater risk of disease progression and a twofold greater risk of dying, compared to patients with optimal vitamin D levels, after accounting for other patient factors associated with worse outcomes.
The findings support the growing association between vitamin D and cancer risk and outcomes, and suggest that vitamin D supplements might help even those patients already diagnosed with some forms of cancer, said lead investigator, Matthew Drake, MD, PhD, a Mayo endocrinologist. "The exact roles that vitamin D might play in the initiation or progression of cancer is unknown, but we do know that the vitamin plays a role in regulation of cell growth and death, among other processes important in limiting cancer." Other researchers have found that vitamin D regulates a number of genes in various cancers, including prostate, colon, and breast cancers.