Document Type
Article
Subject Area(s)
Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Abstract
Vitamin D has been associated with decreased risk of several cancers. In experimental studies, vitamin D has been shown to inhibit cell proliferation and induce differentiation and apoptosis in normal and malignant breast cells. Using a population-based case-control study on Long Island, New York, we examined the association of breast cancer with plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) levels, a measure of vitamin D body stores. In-person interviews and blood specimens were obtained from 1,026 incident breast cancer cases diagnosed in 1996 to 1997 and 1,075 population-based controls. Plasma 25-OHD was measured in batched, archived specimens by Diasorin RIA. The mean (SD) plasma 25-OHD concentration was 27.1 (13.0) and 29.7(15.1) ng/mL in the cases and controls, respectively (P < 0.0001). Plasma 25-OHD was inversely associated with breast cancer risk in a concentration-dependent fashion (Ptrend=0.002). Compared with women with vitamin D deficiency (25-OHD, <20 ng/mL), levels above 40 ng/mL were associated with decreased breast cancer risk (odds ratio, 0.56; 95% confidence interval, 0.41-0.78). The reduction in risk was greater among postmenopausal women (odds ratio, 0.46; 95% confidence interval, 0.09-0.83), and the effect did not vary according to tumor hormone receptor status. In summary, these results add to a growing body of evidence that adequate vitamin D stores may prevent breast cancer development. Whereas circulating 25-OHD levels >32 ng/mL are associated with normal bone mineral metabolism, our data suggest that the optimal level for breast cancer prevention is ≥40 ng/mL. Well-designed clinical trials are urgently needed to determine whether vitamin D supplementation is effective for breast cancer chemoprevention.
Publication Info
Postprint version. Published in Cancer Prevention Research, Volume 2, Issue 6, 2009, pages 598-604.
Crew, K. D., Gammon, M. D., Steck, S. E., Hershamn, D. L., Cremers, S., Dworakowski, E., ... Santella, R. M. (2009). Association between plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D and breast cancer risk. Cancer Prevention Research, 2(6), 598-604.
DOI: 10.1158/1940-6207.CAPR-08-0138
© Cancer Prevention Research, 2009, American Association for Cancer Research
http://cancerpreventionresearch.aacrjournals.org/content/2/6/598.full
Rights
Crew, K. D., Gammon, M. D., Steck, S. E., Hershamn, D. L., Cremers, S., Dworakowski, E., ... Santella, R. M. (2009). Association between plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D and breast cancer risk. Cancer Prevention Research, 2(6), 598-604.
DOI: 10.1158/1940-6207.CAPR-08-0138
© Cancer Prevention Research, 2009, American Association for Cancer Research
http://cancerpreventionresearch.aacrjournals.org/content/2/6/598.full