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# Breaking news:  Taking vitamin D supplements prevents lung cancer
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/vitamin_d3_prevents_lung_cancer/
- Published: 2013-11-05T20:29:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T16:10:01.000Z
- Description: A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition linked more than 400 IU of vitamin D3 a day to 63% lower lung cancer risk among never-smoking postmenopausal women. It drew on 128,779 women in the Women's Health Initiative; smokers showed no such benefit.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Cancer, Avoiding Illness, #vivvo-import

Tuesday Nov 5, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) - Taking vitamin D supplements can help reduce the risk of lung cancer at least among non-smoking postmenopausal women, suggests a study recently published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

T. Y. Cheng from Public Health Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA and colleagues conducted the study and found taking greater than 400 IU of vitamin D3 per day was associated with 63% reduced risk for lung cancer among postmenopausal women who did not smoke.

This trial result also suggests that smoking may cause too much damage to the lung and increase the risk of lung cancer to such an extent that taking vitamin D supplement is not effective enough to neutralize the increased risk.

Prior studies have already suggested that vitamin D helps prevent lung cancer among certain populations.

The data used for the study came from the Women's Health Initiative (Clinical Trials and Observational Study) 1993-2010 which included 128,779 postmenopausal women and during the study period, 1771 incident cases of lung cancer developed. For the study, 12% of women in the Calcium/Vitamin D Trial received 1 gram of calcium and 400 IU vitamin D3 per day. 

In addition to the inverse association between vitamin D intake and risk of lung cancer, the study also found total vitamin A intake did not modify the association between total vitamin D intake and lung cancer risk.

Nevertheless, the supplementation with calcium and vitamin Ds rendered a protective effect against lung cancer only among women who had intake of greater than 1000 ug of retinol activity equivalents per day. The risk reduction was 31%.

The study concluded "Vitamin D intake was associated with a lower lung cancer risk in never-smoking, postmenopausal women. Lower vitamin A intake may be important for a beneficial association of 1 g Ca + 400 IU vitamin D3 supplementation with lung cancer."

This is a trial and therefore vitamin D supplementation indeed reduces the risk of lung cancer. (David Liu)