Is Vitamin D an Effective Option to Improve Breast Cancer Survival?

De novo vitamin D supplementation may be associated with improved survival among women with breast cancer—and the sooner it is initiated, the better—according to new research.

These findings further support a protective effect of vitamin D against breast cancer that has been demonstrated in previous studies.

Moreover, this study suggests that vitamin D supplementation “has the potential as a non-toxic and inexpensive agent to improve survival in breast cancer patients,” the authors of the study wrote.

For their study, Jamie Madden, PhD, MSc, of the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin, Ireland, and colleagues assessed 5417 women aged 50 to 80 years with a documented diagnosis of invasive breast cancer. Data were obtained through the National Cancer Registry Ireland database.

Linked national prescription data helped identify de novo vitamin D initiation after breast cancer diagnosis (n = 2581, 49%). Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for breast cancer-specific mortality were estimated via Cox proportional hazards models.

Ultimately, the researchers found that de novo vitamin D use after a breast cancer diagnosis was associated with a 20% reduction in breast cancer-specific mortality compared with non-use (modeled as a time-varying variable).

Furthermore, breast cancer-specific mortality decreased by 49% among women who initiated vitamin D within 6 months after their diagnosis (HR 0.51).

“Findings support the need for [randomized controlled trials] exploring the effect of vitamin D supplementation on breast cancer survival,” they concluded.

—Christina Vogt

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