Vitamin D Supplementation May Help Reduce Prostate Cancer Risk.

A study conducted at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital and presented at the 2005 Multidisciplinary Prostate Cancer Symposium in Orlando, FL found that men with higher blood levels of vitamin D had lower risk of prostate cancer, including aggressive prostate cancer. The interaction of vitamin D and calcium was also reviewed. Researchers stated that excess calcium can increase prostate cancer risk.

Researchers evaluated data from the Physician’s Health Study at Harvard and Brigham, which involved almost 15,000 men. Blood samples were taken from subjects in 1982 at the study’s initiation and then again 18 years later. 1,802 participants had developed prostate cancer. Researchers studied blood levels of two common forms of vitamin D in the men who had developed prostate cancer and compared them to 1,701 study participants who had not developed the disease. Men with higher vitamin D levels had half the risk of developing prostate cancer and one-fourth the risk of developing aggressive tumors, as compared to men with lower blood levels of vitamin D. Previous research utilizing Physician’s Health Study data had shown that high calcium levels are associated with higher rates of prostate cancer.

Researchers emphasized obtaining adequate vitamin D through skin exposure to sunlight and diet, including both food and supplements. They also noted that relying on vitamin D from products that also contain calcium warranted caution, since too much calcium can increase prostate cancer risk and negate the benefits of vitamin D.

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