High serum 25(OH)D linked to lower breast cancer mortality

(HealthDay)—Higher concentrations of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) are associated with lower mortality from breast cancer, according to a meta-analysis published in the March issue of Anticancer Research.

Sharif B. Mohr, M.P.H., from the Naval Health Research Center in San Diego, and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis of five studies to examine the correlation between 25(OH)D at diagnosis and mortality from breast cancer. A random-effects model was used to calculate hazard ratios.

The researchers observed a correlation between higher 25(OH)D concentration and lower case-fatality rates after breast cancer diagnosis. Compared with patients in the lowest quintile of 25(OH)D, those in the highest quintile had about half the death rate from breast cancer (hazard ratio, 0.56).

"High serum 25(OH)D was associated with lower mortality from breast cancer. Serum 25(OH)D in all patients with breast cancer should be restored to the normal range (30 to 80 ng/mL), with appropriate monitoring," the authors write. "Clinical or field studies should be initiated to confirm that this association was not due to reverse causation."