19 May 2008
Washington, United States
Women deficient in vitamin D at the time of a breast cancer diagnosis are more likely to die or see the tumour spread, a new study has shown. Patients low in vitamin D were 94% more likely to see their cancer metastasize and 73% more likely to die from it, compared to women with normal levels of vitamin D in their blood, researchers found.
Some 37.5% of the women participating in the research were “Deficient” in vitamin D and 38.5% had “Insufficient” levels of the vitamin.
which is considered key to bone health. But investigators stopped short of recommending taking vitamin D supplements to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer or dying from it, saying more research needs to be done.
According to the researchers, a normal level of vitamin D is 80 to 120 nanomoles per litre (nmol/L) of blood. Less than 50 nmol/L is considered deficient.
Women deficient in vitamin D were more likely to develop breast cancer before the onset of menopause, to be overweight and to have high levels of insulin in their blood, the researchers said. Their cancers were also more likely to be aggressive, they said.
Childhood cancer survivors prone to early heart trouble
Adults who had cancer as children or teens are more likely to experience cardiovascular disease, a new study found. And the heart problems surface at a much earlier age than in people who did not suffer cancer as children. Childhood cancer survivors “have approximately a five to 10 times increased risk of having heart disease compared to their healthy siblings”, said the researchers.
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