Vitamin D Cuts Breast Cancer Risk

August 27, 2008: 04:18 PM EST

A study in the American Journal of Epidemiology finds that increased intake of vitamin D from the diet and from sunlight may reduce the risk of breast cancer by more than 20 percent. The researchers from Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto found vitamin D is associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer “regardless of [oestrogen-receptor (ER) positive and progesterone-receptor (PR)] status of the tumor”. Hormone-sensitive ER positive and PR positive tumors are said to be the most common type diagnosed among breast cancer patients in the US. The tumors are stimulated to grow by the female hormones estrogen and progesterone. The Canadian researchers analyzed the vitamin D intakes of 759 women with breast cancer, and compared this to the vitamin D intakes of 1,135 healthy controls. Increased intakes of the vitamin were associated with a 24 percent reduction in the risk of developing ER+ and PR+ tumors, said the researchers.

Kristina M. Blackmore, "Vitamin D From Dietary Intake and Sunlight Exposure and the Risk of Hormone-Receptor-Defined Breast Cancer", American Journal of Epidemiology, August 27, 2008, © American Journal of Epidemiology

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