Vitamin D and Breast Cancer
Abstract
Preliminary data from this study address the first of our four specific research aims: to determine whether blood levels of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, the active metabolite of vitamin D, are lower in women at the time of first diagnosis of breast cancer than in comparable women who do not have breast cancer. To date, we have analyzed the blood of 94 women with breast cancer and 216 women without breast cancer for 1,25-dihydroxyvitarnin D. The women with cancer have mean blood levels that are 11% lower than those without cancer. Among white women, this difference is statistically significant at the 0.05 level. Although our number of black subjects is small, there does not seem to be a similar pattern of difference between cases and controls. Our data confirm previously reported differences between blacks and whites in blood levels of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D with black women having levels 12% higher than those of white women. The significance of this work relates to the potential for prevention of breast cancer. Furthermore, there are implications for the development of new therapeutic modalities, and the possibility of better understanding mechanisms of carcinogenesis as we define the role of vitamin D.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 15, 1995
- Accession Number
- ADA298702
Entities
People
- Esther Janowsky
Organizations
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill