Vitamin D reduces the occurrence of advanced cancers

Vitamin D is loaded with benefits. Researchers at Brigham Women’s Hospital at Harvard University (USA) have shown that taking vitamin D was associated with an overall reduction of 17% in the risk of cancer. This reduction could go up to 38% for people who have a normal body mass index. The article was published on November 18, 2020 in Jama Network Open.

Vitamin D and omega-3 for five years

To reach this conclusion, the research team looked at the VITAL (Vitamin D and Omega-3 Trial) trial which ended in 2018. It showed that vitamin D did not reduce the incidence of cancer but that it reduced the risk of death. With this new study from VITAL, researchers want to know if vitamin D supplementation had a link with the risk of metastatic or fatal cancer.

The VITAL study took place over five years and focused on 25,000 women and men aged 50 or older who were cancer free. Throughout the experiment, the participants were divided into four groups: those who were allowed vitamin D (2,000 international units per day) and omega-3; those with vitamin D and a placebo; those with omega-3s and a placebo; those with two placebos.

The main criteria sought by the team focused on the incidence of cancer and the major cardiovascular elements that would have seen their situation change. In a second step, the team examined the effects of body mass index (BMI) on cancers as well as to see if a possible correlation between the reduction of cancer cases and the supplementation or not of vitamin D.

Among the 25,000 participants, 1,617 were diagnosed with invasive cancer (breast, prostate, colorectal, lung or other) during the five years of the test. Of the 13,000 participants who received vitamin D, 226 were diagnosed with advanced cancer compared with 274 of those who received a placebo. Similarly, of the 7,843 participants who had a normal BMI (between 18 and 25) and who received vitamin D, only 58 of them were diagnosed with cancer, compared to 96 people taking a placebo.

“These results suggest that vitamin D may reduce the risk of developing advanced cancerssays Paulette Chandler, a preventive medicine epidemiologist at Brigham Women’s Hospital. Vitamin D is a supplement that is readily available, inexpensive, and has been used and studied for decades. Our findings, particularly the large risk reduction seen in people of normal weight, provide new insights into the relationship between vitamin D and cancer progression..”

Vitamin D and its many benefits

Although at first glance the results seem to be due to chance, however, there is previous evidence that body mass can affect the action of vitamin D. Indeed, obesity and the inflammation that excess weight creates decreases the effectiveness of vitamin D. Similarly, randomized trials of vitamin D have shown it to be more beneficial in people with a normal body mass index.

Vitamin D deficiencies are common in cancer patients. A previous study showing deficiency rates of 72% in cancer patients. People with high levels of body fat also have an increased risk of having several cancers.

“Our findings, along with those of previous studies, support the ongoing evaluation of vitamin D supplementation for the prevention of metastatic cancers – a biologically plausible linkconfirms Paulette Chandler. Further studies in cancer patients investigating the role of BMI are warranted..”