Vitamin D May Cut Colon Cancer Risk

Friday Jan 22, 2010 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new study in the British Medical Journal suggests that taking high doses of vitamin D supplements may help reduce colon cancer risk drastically. 

The study showed that those who had the highest levels of serum vitamin D were 40 percent less likely to be diagnosed with colon and rectal or colorectal cancer. 

Several studies have previously associated vitamin D with colorectal cancer, although not all studies are consistent. 

The new association was derived from an analysis of data from 520,000 men and women from 10 Western European countries who participated in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer Study or EPIC. 

The study surveyed the subjects between 1992 and 1998 for their dietary practices and lifestyles through a questionnaire.   Blood samples were also drawn and tested for vitamin D levels at baseline.  Then participants were followed up for a several years during which 1,248 case of colorectal cancer were diagnosed. 

The researchers compared the serum vitamin D levels between the cancer patients and those who did not have the disease and found those who had highest vitamin D levels in their blood were at 40 percent reduced risk for colorectal cancer. 

Additionally, those who had vitamin D levels below 50 nmol/L were at higher risk, while those who had their levels above 75 nmol/L did not have an additional reduction in the risk of colorectal cancer. 

Vitamin D is synthesized after the skin is exposed to the ultravilet rays from the sun. Vitamin D deficiency, which is common in the developed countries, has been linked with up to 17 types of cancer, according to Dr. John Cannell, direcotr of Vitamin D Council. 

The study was conducted by Mazda Jenab and colleagues at International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC-WHO), Lyon, France and from other organizations. 

In 2005, 72,007 men and 69,398 women were diagnosed with colorectal cancer in the United States;  the disease killed 26,781 men and 26,224 women that year.