SHORT REPORT

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in early and advanced breast cancer

C Palmieri¹, T MacGregor¹, S Girgis², D Vigushin¹

¹ Cancer Research UK Laboratories, Department of Cancer Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK
² Department of Metabolic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK

Correspondence to:
C Palmieri
Cancer Research UK Laboratories, Department of Cancer Medicine, MRC Cyclotron Building, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London W12 ONN, UK; c.palmieri{at}imperial.ac.uk

Background: Laboratory and epidemiological studies have implicated vitamin D deficiency in the pathogenesis of breast cancer. 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)₂D) promotes differentiation and apoptosis, and potently inhibits proliferation of malignant breast epithelial cells in culture. Serum levels of 1,25(OH)₂D are higher in normal women than in patients with primary breast cancer.

Aim: To clarify the role of vitamin D in breast cancer progression by comparing the levels of serum vitamin D in patients with early and in those with advanced breast cancer.

Methods: Circulating levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), parathyroid hormone (PTH) and calcium were measured prospectively in 279 Caucasian women with invasive breast cancer, 204 women with early-stage disease and 75 women with locally advanced or metastatic disease.

Results: Patients with early-stage breast cancer had significantly higher circulating levels of 25(OH)D (p<0.005) and significantly lower PTH (p<0.001) levels than those with advanced disease. Calcium levels did not differ significantly (p = 0.74).

Conclusion: Serum levels of 25(OH)D are significantly higher in patients with early-stage breast cancer than in those with locally advanced or metastatic disease.

Abbreviations: 1, 25(OH)₂D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D; 25(OH)D, 25-hydroxyvitamin D; PTH, parathyroid hormone

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