Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to several different cancers, according to a new study.
The researchers analyzed vitamin D levels in blood samples from 160 cancer patients. They found that 42 percent had insufficient levels of vitamin D (between 20 and 30 nanograms per milliliter of blood) and 32 percent had vitamin D deficiency (less than 20 ng/mL).
Among the participants, the average level of vitamin D was 24 ng/mL. Anyone who lay below this level were nearly three times more likely to have stage III cancer than those with higher levels of vitamin D.
These findings are only preliminary, and have not yet been peer-reviewed, but they suggest that vitamin D could play an important role in cancer in cancer prevention and treatment. It also goes hand in hand with previous research, which has indicated that vitamin D plays a role in regulating the spread and multiplication of cancer cells, and has anti-tumor properties.
According to study author Thomas Churilla, the researchers administered vitamin D to the participants with low vitamin D levels, but it was too early to tell whether this improved their prognosis.
Good sources of vitamin D include fatty fish such as salmon or mackerel, milk, and certain breakfast cereals. Vitamin D can also be absorbed through direct exposure to sunlight.
The research was presented at the American Society for Radiation Oncology.
