Vitamin D Helps Suppress Breast Cancer
pine Webmaster of Pineapple
2008/05/24 01:56
508 topics published
China Times 2008.05.18
Yang Mingwei / Comprehensive Report
Canadian researchers have discovered that breast cancer patients with insufficient vitamin D levels are more likely to have their cancer spread or die from the disease compared to those with adequate vitamin D intake, indicating that this "sunshine vitamin" indeed has anti-cancer effects.
To understand whether vitamin D affects the survival rate of breast cancer patients, researchers conducted blood tests on 512 women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer at the University of Toronto-affiliated hospitals between 1989 and 1995.
After a 10-year follow-up, 83% of patients with adequate vitamin D levels in their blood survived without significant cancer spread, compared to 79% of those with insufficient vitamin D and 69% of those severely deficient.
The study found that only 24% of these women had sufficient vitamin D levels at the time of their breast cancer diagnosis. Those with severe vitamin D deficiency were twice as likely to experience cancer recurrence or spread within 10 years and had a 79% higher risk of dying from breast cancer.
Dr. Pamela Goodwin of Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, who led the study, stated that this is a significant difference and marks the first time the medical community has found a link between vitamin D and breast cancer progression. However, she cautioned that people should not immediately start taking vitamin D supplements.
Source:
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