Vitamin D Protects Against Breast Cancer
by Dr. Susan Lark
Published 03/31
Drawing on previous research indicating that a vitamin D deficiency has been associated with a higher risk of developing breast cancer, Canadian researchers set out to determine if a patient’s level of vitamin D also influenced the growth and lethality of breast cancer.
Led by Dr. Pamela J. Goodwin, the researchers followed 512 women from the date of their original diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, between 1989 and 1995, for more than 10 years, through 2006. The study indicated that 76 percent of the participants had deficient levels of vitamin D when they were diagnosed with breast cancer. Furthermore, those who were deficient in this critical vitamin were two times as likely to have their cancer spread or recur, and on top of that, were even more likely for the cancer to lead to their death.
On the flip side, of the women who had sufficient levels of vitamin D when they were first diagnosed, 83 percent were still alive at the conclusion of the study, and their cancer had not significantly spread throughout the body. Interestingly though, moderate amounts of vitamin D had the best effect on participants, since those with the lowest and highest amounts of the vitamin were the least likely to survive. The researchers determined that low and extremely high levels of vitamin D were associated with both the development of breast cancer and the lethality of its progression.
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