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A new review examines the role of vitamin D in the prevention of breast cancer. Published in the Nutrients journal by researchers from Spain, it seeks to determine the optimum serum levels for achieving a protective effect against the disease. Finding that a vitamin D concentration of around 40 nanograms (ng) per milliliter (mL) or more could be protective, the paper concludes that the use of supplements may be an appropriate means of achieving this.
The most prevalent cancer in women worldwide, known risk factors for breast cancer include age, genetic predisposition, breast density, obesity, and lifestyle factors such as alcohol consumption. Noting that an estimated 30 percent of adults grapple with outright vitamin D deficiency, and with over 60 percent of people exhibiting insufficient levels, the researchers describe how calcitriol, the active form of vitamin D in the body, is now known to exhibit anticancer effects.
With the complex nature of breast cancer fueling a search for new prevention and early intervention strategies, the researchers say that studying the correlation between the disease and vitamin D supplementation represents a promising avenue of investigation.
A total of sixteen studies were included in this review. While it also explores biological mechanisms and risk factors, the paper’s primary focus is on analyzing the link between serum levels of vitamin D and the risk of developing breast cancer. This is done through examining five of the sixteen studies and evaluating the vitamin D levels considered optimal for reducing the risk. These five studies comprise three case-control studies, a combined analysis of two randomized clinical trials and one prospective cohort, and a meta-analysis.
From analyzing these studies, the researchers were able to determine that the average serum concentration at which vitamin D could exert its protective effect against breast cancer is around 40 ng/mL. They also note that some studies link a concentration of less than 20 ng/mL with a worse prognosis and progression of the disease.
In addition to recognizing that there is now abundant scientific evidence supporting a relationship between vitamin D and the risk of breast cancer, the paper also summarizes other factors that reduce the risk of the disease. These include a healthy diet, moderate exercise, calcium supplementation, and exposure to sunlight.
Taking things a step further, scientists at the Dr. Rath Research Institute have tested the effects of vitamin D against breast cancer, both on its own and in combination with a group of synergistic nutrients that included green tea extract, vitamin C, lysine, proline, and others. When tested alone, vitamin D inhibited cancer cell growth; however, the amount required to achieve this was much higher than the acceptable safe dose. The scientists therefore examined the efficacy of lower doses of vitamin D; first when combined with green tea extract, and then with the synergistic micronutrient mixture.
The results showed that combining vitamin D with the green tea extract inhibited the growth of breast cancer cells by 62 percent. Significantly, however, vitamin D in combination with the nutrient mixture had a much more pronounced effect. With incremental doses of the mixture, and while keeping the amount of vitamin D constant, breast cancer cell growth could be inhibited by as much as 94 percent.
The World Health Organization reports that globally, in 2022, a total of 2.3 million women were diagnosed with breast cancer and 670,000 died from the disease. What is now clear however is that science-based nutritional and Cellular Medicine therapies have real potential to significantly reduce these numbers. Given the continued failure of pharmaceutical drug-based approaches to prevent and eradicate breast cancer, it is time for the knowledge gained from studies using vitamin D and other nutrients to be incorporated into clinical practice.