Should men with prostate cancer take vitamin D?
From The People’s Pharmacy
Low vitamin D levels in men with prostate cancer were linked to higher Gleason scores and more aggressive tumors.
A new study indicates that men with prostate cancer should have their vitamin D level tested at the time of diagnosis. That’s because low levels of this vitamin appear to be linked to a worse prognosis.
Vitamin D Levels in Men with Prostate Cancer:
The researchers at Northwestern University School of Medicine collected information on the blood level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in men scheduled for prostate surgery. (That is the most useful measurement of vitamin D in the body.) Those with the lowest levels of vitamin D were more likely to have aggressive prostate cancers with high Gleason scores.
There were 190 men in the study with an average age of 64. Those who had aggressive prostate tumors had a median 25-hydroxyvitamin D level of 22.7 nanograms/milliliter. A level of 30 ng/ml is more typical and seems to be preferable. Men with 30 ng/ml or higher levels were less likely to have high Gleason scores or cancer found outside the prostate gland itself.
Men with dark skin and those who live in northern regions (such as Chicago, where the study was conducted) are more likely to have low levels of vitamin D. The researchers recommend vitamin D supplements to bring levels to normal.
Journal of Clinical Oncology, online Feb. 22, 2016
Do Vitamin D Supplements Make a Difference?
We could find no experiments in which men with aggressive prostate cancers were given vitamin D supplements to see if they slow the progression of the cancer. In one study, however, men with early-stage low-risk prostate cancer under active surveillance were given 4,000 IU per day for one year. This dose brought 25-hydroxyvitamin D of the African-American men in the study to the same levels as those of the Caucasian men.
Men taking the supplement had fewer samples (cores) showing prostate cancer when their biopsies were repeated after a year. This study suggests that vitamin D supplementation may have value for men with prostate cancer, but it needs to be followed up with a randomized, placebo-controlled study.
Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, July, 2013
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, July, 2012
IMAGE: vitamin D capsules
