Prognostic Role of Vitamin D Status and Efficacy of Vitamin D Supplementation in Cancer Patients: a Systematic Review

Overview

Journal Oncologist

Publisher Oxford University Press

Specialty Oncology

Date 2011 Aug 13

PMID 21835895

Citations 39

Authors

Consuelo Buttigliero

Chiara Monagheddu

Paola Petroni

Andrea Saini

Luigi Dogliotti

Giovannino Ciccone

Alfredo Berruti

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Whether or not hypovitaminosis D can influence the prognosis of cancer patients and whether or not vitamin D (vitD) supplementation improves outcome remain controversial.

Design: Studies evaluating the prognostic role of vitD and vitD receptor (VDR) in cancer patients and trials evaluating the efficacy of vitD administration on patient outcome were identified by a search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, ISI Web of Knowledge, and the Cochrane Library through June 2010.

Results: Twenty-five studies were included. A negative prognostic role for low serum vitD level was observed in five cohort studies including patients with breast cancer (one study), colon cancer (two studies), prostate cancer (one study), and melanoma (one study), but not in two studies on non-small cell lung cancer and one study on breast cancer. Three of four studies showed that VDR(+) tumors carry a better prognosis than VDR(-) tumors, whereas VDR polymorphisms were significantly associated with prognosis in five of 10 studies. A significant interaction between serum vitD level and VDR polymorphism was observed in one study. Three randomized trials involving advanced prostate cancer patients explored the prognostic role of vitD supplementation. A meta-analysis of these trials showed no effect on survival (pooled risk ratio, 1.07; 95% confidence interval, CI, 0.93-1.23), with strong heterogeneity among studies.

Conclusion: Hypovitaminosis D seems to be associated with a worse prognosis in some cancers, but vitD supplementation failed to demonstrate a benefit in prostate cancer patients. The currently available evidence is insufficient to recommend vitD supplementation in cancer patients in clinical practice.

Citing Articles

Umbrella Review on the Relationship between Vitamin D Levels and Cancer.

Schomann-Finck M, Reichrath J Nutrients. 2024; 16(16).

PMID: 39203855 PMC: 11356988. DOI: 10.3390/nu16162720.

Novel Noninvasive Serum Biomarkers for Prompt Diagnosis of Breast Carcinoma.

Afzal M, Noreen R, Aslam N, Alam M, Momenah M ACS Omega. 2024; 9(1):1174-1182.

PMID: 38222620 PMC: 10785289. DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c07431.

Vitamin D abnormalities of children with recurrence of malignancy and comparison with newly diagnosed patients.

Reisi N, Mirzaei A, Moafi A, Raeissi P, Naghdhassani M Caspian J Intern Med. 2022; 13(4):735-740.

PMID: 36420327 PMC: 9659826. DOI: 10.22088/cjim.13.4.735.

Assessment of Specific Tumoral Markers, Inflammatory Status, and Vitamin D Metabolism before and after the First Chemotherapy Cycle in Patients with Lung Cancer.

Crintea A, Drugan C, Constantin A, Lupan I, Fekete Z, Silaghi C Biology (Basel). 2022; 11(7).

PMID: 36101414 PMC: 9312139. DOI: 10.3390/biology11071033.

Association between serum Vitamin D levels and prognostic factors in nonmetastatic breast cancer patients.

Shahrzad M, Gharehgozlou R, Fadaei S, Hajian P, Mirzaei H J Res Med Sci. 2022; 27:56.

PMID: 36092485 PMC: 9450253. DOI: 10.4103/jrms.jrms_951_21.

References

Ng K, Meyerhardt J, Wu K, Feskanich D, Hollis B, Giovannucci E . Circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin d levels and survival in patients with colorectal cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2008; 26(18):2984-91. DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2007.15.1027. View

Yagmurdur M, Atac F, Uslu N, Ekici Y, Verdi H, Ozdemir B . Clinical importance of vitamin D receptor gene polymorphism in invasive ductal carcinoma. Int Surg. 2010; 94(4):304-9. View

Lips P, CHAPUY M, Dawson-Hughes B, Pols H, Holick M . An international comparison of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D measurements. Osteoporos Int. 1999; 9(5):394-7. DOI: 10.1007/s001980050162. View

Goodwin P, Ennis M, Pritchard K, Koo J, Hood N . Prognostic effects of 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in early breast cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2009; 27(23):3757-63. DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2008.20.0725. View

Jurutka P, Bartik L, Whitfield G, Mathern D, Barthel T, Gurevich M . Vitamin D receptor: key roles in bone mineral pathophysiology, molecular mechanism of action, and novel nutritional ligands. J Bone Miner Res. 2008; 22 Suppl 2:V2-10. DOI: 10.1359/jbmr.07s216. View

Lundin A, Soderkvist P, Eriksson B, Wingren S . Association of breast cancer progression with a vitamin D receptor gene polymorphism. South-East Sweden Breast Cancer Group. Cancer Res. 1999; 59(10):2332-4. View

Attia S, Eickhoff J, Wilding G, McNeel D, Blank J, Ahuja H . Randomized, double-blinded phase II evaluation of docetaxel with or without doxercalciferol in patients with metastatic, androgen-independent prostate cancer. Clin Cancer Res. 2008; 14(8):2437-43. PMC: 5648051. DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-07-4274. View

Obara W, Konda R, Akasaka S, Nakamura S, Sugawara A, Fujioka T . Prognostic significance of vitamin D receptor and retinoid X receptor expression in renal cell carcinoma. J Urol. 2007; 178(4 Pt 1):1497-503. DOI: 10.1016/j.juro.2007.05.119. View

Heist R, Zhou W, Wang Z, Liu G, Neuberg D, Su L . Circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D, VDR polymorphisms, and survival in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2008; 26(34):5596-602. PMC: 2651100. DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2008.18.0406. View

10.

Freedman D, Looker A, Chang S, Graubard B . Prospective study of serum vitamin D and cancer mortality in the United States. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2007; 99(21):1594-602. DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djm204. View

11.

Valdivielso J, Fernandez E . Vitamin D receptor polymorphisms and diseases. Clin Chim Acta. 2006; 371(1-2):1-12. DOI: 10.1016/j.cca.2006.02.016. View

12.

Robsahm T, Tretli S, Dahlback A, Moan J . Vitamin D3 from sunlight may improve the prognosis of breast-, colon- and prostate cancer (Norway). Cancer Causes Control. 2004; 15(2):149-58. DOI: 10.1023/B:CACO.0000019494.34403.09. View

13.

Xu Y, Shibata A, McNeal J, Stamey T, Feldman D, Peehl D . Vitamin D receptor start codon polymorphism (FokI) and prostate cancer progression. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2003; 12(1):23-7. View

14.

Holick M . High prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy and implications for health. Mayo Clin Proc. 2006; 81(3):353-73. DOI: 10.4065/81.3.353. View

15.

Bhatia V, Mula R, Weigel N, Falzon M . Parathyroid hormone-related protein regulates cell survival pathways via integrin alpha6beta4-mediated activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt signaling. Mol Cancer Res. 2009; 7(7):1119-31. PMC: 2755566. DOI: 10.1158/1541-7786.MCR-08-0568. View

16.

Beer T, Ryan C, Venner P, Petrylak D, Chatta G, Ruether J . Double-blinded randomized study of high-dose calcitriol plus docetaxel compared with placebo plus docetaxel in androgen-independent prostate cancer: a report from the ASCENT Investigators. J Clin Oncol. 2007; 25(6):669-74. DOI: 10.1200/JCO.2006.06.8197. View

17.

Williams H, Powell I, Land S, Sakr W, Hughes M, Patel N . Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms and disease free survival after radical prostatectomy. Prostate. 2004; 61(3):267-75. DOI: 10.1002/pros.20103. View

18.

Halsall J, Osborne J, Potter L, Pringle J, Hutchinson P . A novel polymorphism in the 1A promoter region of the vitamin D receptor is associated with altered susceptibilty and prognosis in malignant melanoma. Br J Cancer. 2004; 91(4):765-70. PMC: 2364794. DOI: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6602006. View

19.

Lupp A, Klenk C, Rocken C, Evert M, Mawrin C, Schulz S . Immunohistochemical identification of the PTHR1 parathyroid hormone receptor in normal and neoplastic human tissues. Eur J Endocrinol. 2010; 162(5):979-86. DOI: 10.1530/EJE-09-0821. View

20.

Obara W, Suzuki Y, Kato K, Tanji S, Konda R, Fujioka T . Vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms are associated with increased risk and progression of renal cell carcinoma in a Japanese population. Int J Urol. 2007; 14(6):483-7. DOI: 10.1111/j.1442-2042.2007.01771.x. View