get out your sunbathing outfit--breast(&other)cancersurvival depends on seasondiagnsd

[Lani]

1: Int J Cancer. 2006 May 2; [Epub ahead of print] Links

Cancer survival is dependent on season of diagnosis and sunlight exposure.

Lim HS, Roychoudhuri R, Peto J, Schwartz G, Baade P, Moller H.

King's College London, Thames Cancer Registry, London, United Kingdom.

Sunlight is essential for the production of vitamin D in the body. Evidence exists to suggest that vitamin D metabolites may have a role in tumor growth suppression. In this large study, involving over a million cancer patients from the United Kingdom, we have analyzed the role of season of diagnosis and sunlight exposure in cancer survival for cancers of the breast, colorectum, lung, prostate and at all sites combined. We used population-based data from the Thames Cancer Registry to analyze cancer survival in periods 0-1 and 0-5 years after diagnosis. The analysis was performed using Cox proportional regression analysis adjusting for age and period at diagnosis and including season of diagnosis and sunlight exposure in the preceding months as factors in the analysis. We found evidence of substantial seasonality in cancer survival, with diagnosis in summer and autumn associated with improved survival compared with that in winter, especially in female breast cancer patients and both male and female lung cancer patients (hazard ratios 0.86 [95% CI 0.83-0.89], 0.95 [95% CI 0.92-0.97] and 0.95 [95% CI 0.93-0.98] respectively). Cumulative sunlight exposure in the months preceding diagnosis was also a predictor of subsequent survival, although season of diagnosis was a stronger predictor than cumulative sunlight exposure. We found seasonality in cancer survival to be stronger in women than in men. Our results add to a growing body of evidence that vitamin D metabolites play an important role in cancer survival. (c) 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

PMID: 16671100 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

I have posted before on a trial of very high dose (in form only available w prescription) vitamin D and normal dose NSAID for recurrent prostate cancer taking place at Stanford. Perhaps it is because prostate cancer can be a more indolent (slower progressing) disease that they haven't started similar trials on breast cancer patients, as they group in the trial were those with recurrence of a milder form as I remember.

[StephN]

Lani - you come up with some real gems!

Would be interesting to know what season all of us had our diagnosis.


Found my lump in mid-Sept. Confirmation of cancer by mid-Oct. Lumpectomy on Nov. 2, 2000. First chemo in mid-Dec.
Must have been the cumulative sunshine or the supplements I took that helped me.

[AlaskaAngel]

NED here. I'm curious too! Lump was seen earlier but wasn't felt until September, 2001 mammo and ultrasound (ditzy local surgeon delayed bx until end of November).

A.A.

[Christine MH-UK]

After a fabulously sunny summer. To lose the weight from the pregnancy, I did about an hour of walking outside every day. I think there was only one day when it was too rainy to get out. Pregnancy-affected breast cancer is generally bad news and I have done much better than expected, so maybe that helped.

I should point out that the seasonal effect may be much stronger in the UK than in the US. We are very far north, on the same latitudes as Canada or the narrower bit of Alaska that runs up the west coast. For much of the year the UV index is 0, but it can get up to 6 or 7 in the summer.

[Liz J.]

Hi all,

I found the lump in March '05 and was dx in April '05. This is interesting as the previous summer I had only gone sunbathing once or twice. Started to get concerned about all the wrinkles on my face from the years of over doing it. Was a bad girl went it came to sunblock. Also, maybe I can get some advice from my HER2 family. I actually just ordered a post mastectomy bathing suit. I feel like I want to get some sun this summer. The wrinkles are not so important anymore. What I am wondering is how safe it is to hang out in the sun while on Herceptin. I haven't asked my onc yet. I have been on every 3 weeks since January and tomorrow I have to go for an ECHO. I had the MUGA for a baseline. God willing all comes out OK or else I guess I won't have to worry about the Herceptin/sunbathing for awhile. Has anyone been tanning while on Herceptin?

Thanks,

Liz J.

[lkc Gumby]

Hi Liz,

I did not tan at all when on Ac or Taxotere, but now that I am back in Nassau.
It's very hard not to be in the sun. ( I am on Herceptin )
I wear sunscreen, but I am tan.
No Problems.
Linda