Vitamin D, Vitamin D Receptor Polymorphisms and Breast Cancer Aggressiveness in African American and European American Women
Abstract
The proposed research project has two objectives: (1) examine serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels and vitamin D receptor (VDR) genetic polymorphisms in association with breast cancer aggressive characteristics, and (2) examine the contribution of vitamin D and VDR polymorphisms to breast cancer racial disparity between African-American (AA) and European American (EA) women. The two objectives are addressed in a two-step approach using two different study populations. The first objective will be examined among breast cancer patients enrolled in the DataBank and BioRepository (DBBR) at Roswell Park Cancer Institute; the second objective will be nested in the Women's Circle of Health Study (WCHS), a large scale case-control study with both AA and EA women. By the end of the second year, we have completed the first objective and part of the second objective. In the first study population, 579 newly diagnosed breast cancer cases and 574 healthy controls, we found that serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels were lower in cases than in controls. Women with sufficient vitamin D levels were at lower risk of breast cancer (OR=0.37, 95% CI=0.27-0.51) than women with insufficient levels of vitamin D. The reduced risk of breast cancer in women with sufficient vitamin D levels was similar between premenopausal and postmenopausal women. When we further examined vitamin D levels in relation to breast cancer characteristics, premenopausal women with high vitamin D levels had a lower risk of highly aggressive breast cancer vs less aggressive cancer, particularly triple negative breast cancer subtype (OR=0.27, 95% CI=0.10-0.71). There were no similar relationships found in postmenopausal women. These results suggest that low vitamin D levels may be associated with breast cancer risk. Among premenopausal women, low vitamin D levels also may be related to highly aggressive breast cancer characteristics.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA527214
Entities
People
- Christine B. Ambrosone
- Song Yao
Organizations
- Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center