Hopes Dashed That Vitamin D Reduces Cancer
Risk
06/18/10
FRIDAY, June 18 (HealthDay News) -- New research appears to dash
hopes that people who consume more vitamin D might be at less risk
of developing several less-common types of cancer.
Researchers found no link between higher blood levels of vitamin
D and lower rates of non-Hodgkin lymphoma or cancers of the
endometrium, esophagus, stomach, kidney, ovary and pancreas.
Vitamin D is obtained by the body through exposure to sunlight,
certain foods such as oily fish, fortified foods and nutritional
supplements.
Authors of a new study analyzed blood samples drawn from more
than 12,000 men and women in 10 studies. The previous studies
followed the patients for as long as 33 years, allowing researchers
to determine if they developed cancer.
"We did not see lower cancer risk in persons with high vitamin D blood concentrations compared to normal concentrations for any of these cancers," said study co-investigator Dr. Demetrius Albanes of the U.S. National Cancer Institute in an institute news release. "And, at the other end of the vitamin D spectrum, we did not see higher cancer risk for participants with low levels."
However, the researchers did find that people with high levels
of vitamin D were more likely to develop pancreatic cancer. It's
not clear if there's a cause-and-effect relationship, and the study
authors called for more research to assess the possible
association.
The findings were published online June 18 in advance of print
publication in the July issue of the
American Journal of Epidemiology.
More information
For more about
vitamin D, see the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
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