Study Finds Vitamin D Supplements Reduce Risk of Developing Advanced Cancer including Prostate Cancer

[cesces]

Study Finds Vitamin D Supplements Reduce Risk of Developing Advanced Cancer

The Vitamin D and Omega-3 Trial (VITAL), which concluded in 2018, found that vitamin D did not reduce overall incidence of cancer, but hinted at a decreased risk of cancer deaths. Now, in a secondary analysis of VITAL, a team led by investigators at Brigham and Women’s Hospital has narrowed in on the connection between taking vitamin D supplements and risk of metastatic or fatal cancer.

In a paper published in JAMA Network Open, the team reports that vitamin D was associated with an overall 17 percent risk reduction for advanced cancer. When the team looked at only participants with a normal body mass index (BMI), they found a 38 percent risk reduction, suggesting that body mass may influence the relationship between vitamin D and decreased risk of advanced cancer.

“These findings suggest that vitamin D may reduce the risk of developing advanced cancers,” said corresponding author Paulette Chandler, MD, MPH, a primary care physician and epidemiologist in the Brigham’s Division of Preventive Medicine. “Vitamin D is a supplement that’s readily available, cheap and has been used and studied for decades. Our findings, especially the strong risk reduction seen in individuals with normal weight, provide new information about the relationship between vitamin D and advanced cancer.”

The VITAL study was a rigorous, placebo-controlled study that took place over a span of more than five years. The VITAL study population included men who were 50 or older and women 55 or older who did not have cancer when the trial began. The study population was racially and ethnically diverse. VITAL was designed to test the independent effects of vitamin D and omega-3 supplements as well as to test for synergy between the two. Participants were divided into four groups: vitamin D (2000 IU/day) plus omega-3s; vitamin D plus placebo; omega-3s plus placebo; and placebos for both. Primary endpoints were major adverse cardiovascular events and incidence of cancer. VITAL did not find a statistical difference in overall cancer rates, but researchers did observe a reduction in cancer-related deaths.

In their secondary analysis, Chandler and colleagues followed up on the possible reduction in cancer deaths with an evaluation of advanced (metastatic or fatal) cancer among participants who did or did not take vitamin D supplements during the trial. They also examined the possible modifying effect of BMI.

Among the more than 25,000 participants in the VITAL study, 1,617 were diagnosed with invasive cancer over the next five years. This included a broad mix of cancers (breast, prostate, colorectal, lung and more). Of the almost 13,000 participants who received vitamin D, 226 were diagnosed with advanced cancer compared to 274 who received the placebo. Of the 7,843 participants with a normal body mass index (BMI less than 25) taking vitamin D, only 58 were diagnosed with advanced cancer compared with 96 taking the placebo.

While the team’s findings on BMI could be due to chance, there is previous evidence that body mass may affect vitamin D action. Obesity and associated inflammation may decrease the effectiveness of vitamin D, possibly by reducing vitamin D receptor sensitivity or altering vitamin D signaling. In addition, randomized trials of vitamin D and type 2 diabetes have found greater benefits of vitamin D in people with normal weights and no benefit among those with obesity.

Https://scitechdaily.com/study-finds-vitamin-d-supplements-reduce-risk-of-developing-advanced-cancer/

[Tall_Allen]

I discussed this a few months ago. Here's what it really says:

Chandler et al. reported on an updated analysis of the VITAL RCT. They looked at whether Vitamin D supplementation affected the risk of developing metastatic or fatal cancer among people who were cancer-free at baseline. With a median intervention period of 5.3 years, there was almost no chance of finding metastatic or fatal prostate cancer in men who were prostate cancer-free at baseline (In the ProtecT trial, 10-year prostate cancer survival among men initially diagnosed with localized prostate cancer was 99%, and metastasis-free survival was 96%.) Because the metastasis-free and cause-specific survival with prostate cancer are so long when starting from a "no cancer" diagnosis, the authors looked for the effect on other cancers, excluding prostate cancer. They found:

• there were no significant differences due to Vitamin D on the incidence of any cancer

• there were no significant differences due to Vitamin D on the metastatic spread across all cancers

• there were no significant differences due to Vitamin D on all-cancer mortality

• Adding together metastases and fatalities due to all cancers, the difference (2.1% vs 1.7%) was statistically significant, especially after the first two years

• The reduction was only statistically significant among those with a normal body-mass index (<25)

• For prostate cancer patients, there were only 6 such cases among those who got Vitamin D and 14 such cases among those who got the placebo - not significantly different. Presumably, they were missed at diagnosis or had a rare virulent type of PCa.

prostatecancer.news/2018/07...

[cesanon in reply to Tall_Allen]

Thanks

[PeteLG in reply to cesanon]

Peoples Pharmacy on NPR had a physician lately who surveyed the vitamin D levels of COVID-19 patients in Chicago and found the serious cases had one thing in common a vey low D level. Conversely those with levels tested above 50ml recovered quicker. More studies required.

[cesanon in reply to PeteLG]

Yes there is clearly some kind of vitamin D linkage with Covid-19. See:

I-MASK+ Ivermectin Covid=19 protocol

covid19criticalcare.com/wp-...

MATH+ HOSPITAL TREATMENT PROTOCOL FOR COVID-19 (incorporating Ivermectin)

covid19criticalcare.com/wp-...

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go D ! 👏👏👏😎