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Posted on Apr 22, 2008, 8 p.m.
By Jeanelle Topping
High levels of vitamin D within the blood could help protect women from breast cancer, researchers have claimed.
High levels of vitamin D within the blood could help protect women from breast cancer, researchers have claimed.
A study produced by the German Cancer Research Centre, investigated the effect of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH) D) in the blood stream.
As part of the research, which involved a sample of almost 1,400 women, it was found that females with low levels of 25(OH) D in their blood stream had an increased risk of developing breast cancer.
The researchers also investigated the effect of the vitamin D receptor, taking an in depth look at the gene and its polymorphisms.
Focusing on four of the polymorphisms in detail, it was revealed that carriers of the Taql type had an increased risk of breast tumors with estrogen on their surface, which the team claimed was an effect of vitamin D counteracting the growth properties of the female sex hormone.
