In a new study published February 22nd in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, researchers find a major link between low levels of vitamin D and aggressive prostate cancer. This study showed that low serum vitamin D blood levels in men can predict aggressive prostate cancer identified at the time of surgery.
This finding is significant because it can offer guidance to men and their doctors who may be monitoring the cancer rather than removing the prostate.
The research team stated that “vitamin D deficiency may predict aggressive prostate cancer as a biomarker and that a deficiency should be corrected with supplements.”
Previous studies that showed this association were based on labs performed well before treatment. The study provides a more direct correlation because it measured D levels within a few months before the tumor was visually identified as aggressive during surgery.
Since vitamin D is a biomarker for both bone health and severity of many other chronic diseases, everyone should have their levels routinely checked.
The researchers further went on to say that all men should be assessing and supplementing according to optimize their vitamin D levels. This is smart preventive health care.
This study was part of a larger ongoing study of 1,760 men in the Chicago area investigating the association between vitamin D and prostate cancer. The current study consisted of 190 men with an average age of 64 who had a radical prostatectomy to remove their prostate from 2009 to 2014.
Eighty seven men of this group had aggressive prostate cancer. Those with aggressive cancer had an average vitamin D level of 22.7 ng/ml. Most people should taking vitamin D supplements, specifically during winter months, however, I found this is really required all year round.
It is rare to have normal vitamin D levels when you work in an office every day. Most people I find need about 4000 IU daily to maintain healthy normal levels whereas 8000 IU to 10,000 IU daily is usually required to get low vitamin D levels to an optimal range.
By Michael Jurgelewicz, DC, DACBN, DCBCN
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