Vitamin D & Survival.

[pjoshea13]

New meta-analysis.

"Seven eligible cohort studies with 7,808 participants were included."

"... an increment of every 20 nmol/L {8 ng/mL} in circulating vitamin D level was" associated with a 9% reduction in mortality.

-Patrick

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/303...

Endocr Connect. 2018 Oct 1. pii: /journals/ec/aop/ec-18-0283.xml. doi: 10.1530/EC-18-0283. [Epub ahead of print]

Circulating vitamin D level and mortality in prostate cancer patients: a dose-response meta-analysis.

Song Z1, Yao Q2, Zhuo Z3, Ma Z4, Chen G5.

Author information

1

Z Song, Department of Urology, Jinshan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China.

2

Q Yao, Department of Endocrinology, Department of Endocrinology, Jinshan Hospital of Fudan University, 1508 Longhang Road, Shanghai 201508, China, Shanghai, 201508, China.

3

Z Zhuo, Shanghai, China.

4

Z Ma, Shanghai, China.

5

G Chen, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Previous studies investigating the association of circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D level with prognosis of prostate cancer yielded controversial results. We conducted a dose-response meta-analysis to elucidate the relationship.

METHODS:

PubMed and Embase were searched for eligible studies up to July 15, 2018. We performed a dose-response meta-analysis using random-effect model to calculate the summary hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of mortality in patients with prostate cancer.

RESULTS:

Seven eligible cohort studies with 7,808 participants were included. The results indicated that higher vitamin D level could reduce the risk of death among prostate cancer patients. The summary HR of prostate cancer-specific mortality correlated with an increment of every 20 nmol/L in circulating vitamin D level was 0.91, with 95% CI 0.87-0.97, P=0.002. The HR for all-cause mortality with the increase of 20 nmol/L vitamin D was 0.91 (95% CI: 0.84-0.98, P=0.01). Sensitivity analysis suggested the pooled HRs were stable and not obviously changed by any single study. No evidence of publications bias was observed.

CONCLUSION:

This meta-analysis suggested that higher 25-hydroxyvitamin D level was associated with a reduction of mortality in prostate cancer patients and vitamin D is an important protective factor in the progression and prognosis of prostate cancer.

PMID: 30352424 DOI: 10.1530/EC-18-0283

[joancarles]

What supplement do you take for vitamin D?

[pjoshea13 in reply to joancarles]

I use:

lifeextension.com/Vitamins-...

which gets me to ~70 ng/mL.

-Patrick

[joancarles in reply to pjoshea13]

Thank you. I take note of the. A hug

[Hidden in reply to pjoshea13]

I've only been taking 2000 IU daily. I will bump that up. Thanks.

[BrianF505 in reply to joancarles]

I take these..

naturahealthproducts.com/vi...

[snoraste in reply to BrianF505]

Not sure if your K2 is MK-7 type. If not, you can do some research on this site why it may be better

[BrianF505 in reply to snoraste]

Thank you. I’ll check both the type and on this site.

[AnnieAppleseed]

As I read studies all the time on dietary supplements, vitamins, hormones, etc., I have long noted that most studies show a benefit and clearly not that most populations are LOW on vit D. This makes sense since we were born under the sun but most of us are indoors all day (under fluorescent lights sometimes) and have been taught to fear the sun. Problems. I have long supplemented personally.

[Tall_Allen]

We (well, those who understand how to evaluate research) throw out observational studies after randomized clinical trials offer real proof. In this case, it proved Vitamin D has NO EFFECT.

[EchoII in reply to Tall_Allen]

Thank you Tall-Allan for bringing giving reality a chance on this site.

[larry_dammit in reply to Tall_Allen]

Tall Allen. Question for you, I’m 26 months into stage 4 with Mets, on Xtandi, eligard and Xgeva monthly. Question appointment yesterday and my blood pressure was elevated, this morning as well. 150/94. Oncologist thinks I may have developed hypertension. Any body out there that have done so due to meds. Fight the good Fight

[Tall_Allen in reply to larry_dammit]

Hypertension can occur with Zytiga - if one isn't taking enough prednisone with it. I don't know why Xtandi would affect it. What does your Onc say - has he seen it before?

[larry_dammit in reply to Tall_Allen]

Nope just told me to start taking my blood pressure twice a day and we will call him if it stays high for a week or more. Will see

[Flydoggy in reply to Tall_Allen]

I very much appreciate your input on this site Allen, as your posts are almost always supported with solid data. Are there studies that indicate any adverse affects of increasing your vitamin D intake?

[Tall_Allen in reply to Flydoggy]

There are some ( they found that either too much or too little were ASSOCIATED with PC). But neither they nor the ones that suggested a positive effect are definitive. That's why they do RCTs. Now we have actual proof.

[Tall_Allen]

It's not up to me or your MO- the RCT was definitive.

[Hidden in reply to Tall_Allen]

Randomized Control Trial for those keeping score. Me, I'll gladly up my D3 intake.

[Litlerny]

I have been taking Prosteon by Theralogix 2x/day for over 3 years. It’s an OTC supplement that you can only get through mail order. It contains calcium, D3, K1, magnesium, strontium, and boron. It was recommended by the urologist who diagnosed my Stage 4 oligometastatic PCa in 2015. It has been ok’d by both my Mayo Clinic MO and my by family physician. The latter recommended I take 1 tablet 2x/day with food to minimize possible side effects like kidney stones or upset stomach. After 3 years, I have experienced no side effects. While I cannot attribute any of this directly, even in part, to the Prosteon (I am on ADT with Lupron and bicalutamide), my one pelvic bone lesion (confirmed by biopsy to be metastatic PCa) “disappeared”. over 2 years ago, and has remained gone as of my last PET scan in 07/18 at the Mayo in Jax. The Mayo report on the scan called it “interval resolution.” I have had no new bone (or other) tumors pop up in 3 years.

CAVEAT! What I am posting here is not intended to be advice to any of you. I am only relating my own personal experience. I’m not a doctor, and don’t even play one on TV. 😎. Like most of you, I’m just a guy with a disease that’s trying to kill me, looking for the best ways to extend my overall survival time with a good quality of life. I am not suggesting that anyone take this supplement. As with anything else, do your own research (Google their website and independent reviews of it), evaluate the pros & cons, side effects, and drug interactions, before you decide on this or any other supplement or complementary treatment. Always discuss it with your oncologist, and make your own decisions.

Have a beautiful blessed day everyone! Looks like a golf day 🏌️⛳️ To me. 😃

[j-o-h-n in reply to Litlerny]

You sure you're not a doctor? Most doctors I know play golf. You know when you call them they say 'take two aspirins and call me in the morning'. "FORE".

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Thursday 10/25/2018 4:57 PM EDT

[Litlerny in reply to j-o-h-n]

Hey, John

Very funny, my friend. 😎 Hope you are rested up from your vacation, and still feeling well. Golf is part of my “complementary therapy” program.

If I was a doctor you would already be buying my books and watching my endless parade of You Tube videos... which would help feed my golf addiction. 🏌️⛳️

[j-o-h-n in reply to Litlerny]

you know the one about the Roman playing golf and yelled out I.V.?

or the one about the guy teaching a woman how to swing her golf club by standing directly behind her when the zipper on his fly got caught on the zipper on the back of her skirt and they couldn't get undone. So thy're were attached and walking back to the clubhouse when a dog saw them and poured a pail of hot water on them?

Mulligans not allowed!

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Thursday 10/25/2018 5:47 PM EDT

[Hidden in reply to Litlerny]

I wanted to play doctor when I was younger.

[EdBar]

Thanks for the info, I've added this to the list of items to discuss with Dr. Sartor next week. I've been taking vitamin D for a while now per Snuffy Myers and Sartor has not had an issue with it either, gonna see what he thinks on dose.

Ed

[Magnus1964]

Make sure the D you take is D3. I take Pure Encapsulations. Prescribed by a Doctor. My serum level of D went from 30 to 80.

[abmicro]

I still believe that 10 years of very low D in a high stress job (D level tested at 20), was the root cause of all my health problems, including cancer. Prostate cancer does not run in my family at all. 10 years before my cancer, I had frequent bronchitis, frequent colds, osteoporosis with many rib fractures over 10 years, and other health issues. After my cancer diagnosis, I went to a specialist to look at my other health issues and he found low D. He put me on 5000 units of Vit D, some calcium, and bone building drugs for osteoporosis. My general health improved and ribs got stronger. I no longer cracked ribs when I leaned against a rail, or cracked a rib doing exercise in the gym. Unfortunately, it was too late for cancer. I already had it, so here I am in this forum.

[pjoshea13 in reply to abmicro]

Almost 30 years ago, Gary Schwartz wrote:

"Mortality rates from prostate cancer in the U.S. are inversely correlated with ultraviolet radiation, the principal source of Vitamin D."

in a paper that asked:

"Is vitamin D deficiency a risk factor for prostate cancer?" [1]

It was a novel idea in 1990. 1,242 PubMed papers later, I find it hard to believe that vitamin D supplementation has to be defended.

-Patrick

[1] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/224...

[Tall_Allen in reply to pjoshea13]

30 years ago, it was believed that antioxidants may help prevent cancer. Now we know the opposite is true. We don't know anything for sure (safety or efficacy) without a large, well done RCT. That much has been known since the 1700s. I find it hard to believe that RCTs have to be defended.

[Herman_PSA in reply to Tall_Allen]

You may not be so correct & perhaps bias on the topic of antioxidants and cancer prevention my friend. foh.psc.gov/NYCU/antioxiden...

[Tall_Allen in reply to Herman_PSA]

My friend, that is obviously outdated. They write "...may begin to complete follow-up studies on beta-carotene findings as early as May 2003." So it was written at least 15 years ago. That was exactly my point - patients who rely on outdated info may be harming themselves.

[Herman_PSA in reply to Tall_Allen]

Your comments and your point of view about antioxidants, "We now know the opposite is true." Who is "we" with such a definitive black and white proven fact about antioxidants? Where is the updated data Tall_Allen? Short of that, it's an opinion that may be right, wrong and/or still being investigated and left for us to make our own determination.

[Tall_Allen in reply to Herman_PSA]

"We" are people in medicine who study such things and the rest of us who benefit from their studies, and don't put our faith in outdated internet sites and sites pandering to the fears of people with cancer. Here's what Jim Watson says:

"The vast majority of all agents used to directly kill cancer cells (ionizing radiation, most chemotherapeutic agents and some targeted therapies) work through either directly or indirectly generating reactive oxygen species that block key steps in the cell cycle. As mesenchymal cancers evolve from their epithelial cell progenitors, they almost inevitably possess much-heightened amounts of antioxidants that effectively block otherwise highly effective oxidant therapies."

See especially, section 22: "22. Free-radical-destroying antioxidative nutritional supplements may have caused more cancers than they have prevented"

rsob.royalsocietypublishing...

The SELECT trial was our first clue that antioxidants can promote cancer. Since then, we have had many studies showing the importance of reactive oxygen species in apoptosis and the immunogenic killing of cancer cells. Antioxidants from supplements are dangerous because they interfere with reactive oxygen species formation. Stick to foods! Your body knows how to take what it needs and discard the rest if you don't overload it.

[ITCandy]

Agreed. This is the simplest and most cost effective measure anyone can undertake to improve their health and combat disease. Those who disregard decades of research will be far worse off IMO.

Yet another study.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/287...

purenorth.ca/vitamin-d-your...

[pjoshea13 in reply to ITCandy]

IT,

For a vitamin D denier, the most reckless action in the history of the vitamin was the addition of D to milk in the U.S. in the 1920s. Was there a proper study? No. In those days, people foolishly relied on common sense.

The addition of D to milk seemed to address the widespread problem of rickets, but regretably, we don't have the study to prove cause & effect. As we now know, observational conclusions tend to be incorrect.

The great danger is that some children might drink too much milk & overdose on D. How many cases go unreported each year?

LOL

-Patrick

[Stegosaurus37]

I would be very cautious. The idea that if a little bit is good, a lot must be better is quite pernicious. When you get beyond normal levels, you could be running into toxicity problems.