Reported at a 2015 the meeting of the American Society of Cancer Oncology (ASCO) held in San Francisco, a new study from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute found that patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who had higher levels of vitamin D in their blood samples prior to treatment with chemotherapy , survived longer than patients with lower levels of vitamin D.
The data collected in over 1,000 patients showed that in patients with the highest levels of vitamin D their survival time was 33% percent longer, 32.6 months compared to 24.5 months, for those with the lowest levels.
“This is the largest study that has been undertaken of metastatic colorectal cancer patients and vitamin D,” said the study’s lead author, Kimmie Ng, MD, MPH, a medical oncologist at Dana-Farber. “It’s further supportive of the potential benefits of maintaining sufficient levels of vitamin D in improving patient survival times.”
This research is yet another piece of evidence that vitamin D has many health benefits including being a cancer preventive substance.Dr Ng and the Dana-Farber are conducting studies to see whether vitamin D supplementation is useful in treating cancer in patients.
Information source: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Study title: “High vitamin D levels increase survival of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.
“For more of the latest in nutritional/ lifestyle research check all of my blog posts at www.drsobo.com/blog
For the best care in Integrative Medicine call Henry C. Sobo, M.D., at 203-348-8805 or write us at [email protected]