Low Vitamin D Linked to Breast Cancer

Women diagnosed with aggressive and late stage breast cancer are more likely to have low levels of vitamin D, as compared with women with less invasive and advanced forms of breast cancer. Susan Steck, from the University of South Carolina in Columbia (South Carolina, USA), and colleagues have found that women with plasma Vitamin D concentrations less than 20 ng/mL were eight times more likely to be diagnosed with regional or distant spread of cancer, as compared with women who had sufficient levels of the vitamin.  Further, the team found that serum Vitamin D levels were lowest among patients with triple-negative breast cancer -- tumors lacking estrogen, progesterone, and HER2 receptors.  While the researchers suggest that doctors might want to check levels of vitamin D in breast cancer patients, they note that further research is required to determine if vitamin D supplementation would be of clinical benefit.