Lower Vitamin D Levels Linked to Poorer Melanoma Outcomes
Source: Cancer Therapy Advisor, March 2016
Lower vitamin D levels were associated with poorer overall survival, melanoma-specific survival, and disease-free survival independent of a strong association between lower vitamin D and higher C-reactive protein, a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology has shown.1
For the study, researchers sought to evaluate the association between vitamin D levels and outcome measures in patients with melanoma after controlling for systemic inflammatory response by simultaneously measuring C-reactive protein.
Researchers assayed plasma samples from 1042 prospectively observed patients with melanoma for vitamin D and C-reactive protein. Vitamin D levels of 30 to 100 ng/mL were considered to be sufficient.
Results showed that at a median follow-up of 7.1 years, a lower vitamin D level was associated with the blood draw during the fall or winter months (P<.001), older age (P=.001), increased C-reactive protein (P<.001), increased tumor thickness (P<.001), ulcerated tumor (P=.0105), and advanced melanoma stage (P=.0024).