HER2 Support Group Forums - View Single Post - Vitamin D thread -Please use this for your Vit D info.

R.B. · 08-07-2013, 02:20 PM

Does cancer increase the metabolism of vitamin D - good question ! I have no idea; but from observations in this paper indeed it might, or at least significantly so when cancer has spread to regional areas, which raises interesting questions.

It appears much is still not known, and sufficient research has still not been done, presumably in part because there is limited funding for research into treatments that cannot be patented.

(I have only just found this paper as a result of your question, and only skimmed it - I will read it more fully at a later point)

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3600307/

says in the introduction

"Numerous observational studies have reported an inverse association between vitamin D status, including circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels, and breast cancer risk. "

and concludes

"In spite of the substantial literature on the topic of vitamin D and breast cancer risk and survival, future studies need to focus on gaining a better understanding of the biologic effects of vitamin D in breast tissue. If the antitumor effects of vitamin D are confirmed in human studies, then a more accurate dosage of vitamin D for both prophylactic and therapeutic purposes needs to be established. Based upon the current literature, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) concluded that for cancer and vitamin D, the evidence was “inconsistent and insufficient to inform nutritional requirements” [11]. Therefore, the benefits of routine monitoring of serum 25(OH)D and vitamin D supplementation for breast cancer prevention or to reduce recurrence among breast cancer survivors are uncertain. Given the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among high-risk women and breast cancer survivors [84, 170, 239] and the relatively low toxicity and low cost of supplementation, vitamin D is a potentially modifiable risk factor to target as a strategy for breast cancer prevention and treatment."

There does seem to be quite a lot of interest in the topic which is hopeful viz an ACS article which contains some useful information.

http://www.cancer.org/treatment/trea...rals/vitamin-d

08-07-2013, 02:20 PM	#39
R.B. Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 1,843	Re: Vitamin D thread -Please use this for your Vit D info. Does cancer increase the metabolism of vitamin D - good question ! I have no idea; but from observations in this paper indeed it might, or at least significantly so when cancer has spread to regional areas, which raises interesting questions. It appears much is still not known, and sufficient research has still not been done, presumably in part because there is limited funding for research into treatments that cannot be patented. (I have only just found this paper as a result of your question, and only skimmed it - I will read it more fully at a later point) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3600307/ says in the introduction "Numerous observational studies have reported an inverse association between vitamin D status, including circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels, and breast cancer risk. " and concludes "In spite of the substantial literature on the topic of vitamin D and breast cancer risk and survival, future studies need to focus on gaining a better understanding of the biologic effects of vitamin D in breast tissue. If the antitumor effects of vitamin D are confirmed in human studies, then a more accurate dosage of vitamin D for both prophylactic and therapeutic purposes needs to be established. Based upon the current literature, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) concluded that for cancer and vitamin D, the evidence was “inconsistent and insufficient to inform nutritional requirements” [11]. Therefore, the benefits of routine monitoring of serum 25(OH)D and vitamin D supplementation for breast cancer prevention or to reduce recurrence among breast cancer survivors are uncertain. Given the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among high-risk women and breast cancer survivors [84, 170, 239] and the relatively low toxicity and low cost of supplementation, vitamin D is a potentially modifiable risk factor to target as a strategy for breast cancer prevention and treatment." There does seem to be quite a lot of interest in the topic which is hopeful viz an ACS article which contains some useful information. http://www.cancer.org/treatment/trea...rals/vitamin-d Last edited by R.B.; 08-07-2013 at 02:31 PM..