25-hydroxyvitamin-d-2 and Breast-Neoplasms

In Quebec, cancer is the principal cause of mortality. This epidemiologic research program includes two components. The first component takes place at the "Institut national de santé publique du Québec" and involves surveillance and evaluation of practices in oncology with the aim of providing the Quebec Ministry of Health with some of the evidence needed to determine its policies in cancer control. The second component takes place at the "Unité de recherche en santé des populations (URESP)" of Laval University and is devoted to studying the etiology and prevention of breast cancer. This paper focuses on this second research component which uses mammographic breast density as an intermediate biomarker to study the causes of breast cancer and strategies to prevent it. Breast cancer risk is much higher among women with very dense breasts than among those with little or no breast density. Recently, we were among the first to show that women with high vitamin D or calcium intakes have less breast density than those with low intakes, especially among premenopausal women. Furthermore, we have confirmed that breast density was increased among premenopausal women with high levels of IGF-I and low levels of IGFBP3 which is consistent with the observed effect of these molecules on breast cancer risk. Studies are now being conducted to assess whether breast density varies according to blood levels of vitamin D and of additional growth factors, as well as to genetic polymorphisms involved in the pathways of vitamin D, calcium and growth factors. The increase in vitamin D and calcium intakes may prove to be a safe and inexpensive approach to breast cancer prevention; this possibility should be carefully examined as quickly as possible.

Topics: 25-Hydroxyvitamin D 2; Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal; Biomarkers, Tumor; Breast; Breast Neoplasms; Calcium, Dietary; Female; Humans; Mammography; Polymorphism, Genetic; Premenopause; Quebec; Receptors, Calcitriol; Risk Assessment; Somatomedins; Tamoxifen; Vitamin D

Higher sunlight exposure is correlated with lower incidence of breast cancer in ecological studies, but findings from prospective studies regarding the association of circulating levels of vitamin D with the risk of breast cancer have been null. The objective of this study was to examine the relation between plasma levels of vitamin D and the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer.. We conducted a nested case-control study within the Multiethnic Cohort Study of five race/ethnic groups (white, African-American, Native Hawaiian, Japanese, and Latino) from Hawaii and Los Angeles between 2001 and 2006. Pre-diagnostic plasma levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 [25(OH)D2], 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)D3] and 25(OH)D (sum of 25(OH)D2 and 25(OH)D3) were examined among 707 postmenopausal breast cancer cases and matched controls.. Using conditional logistic regression models, 20 ng/mL increases of plasma 25(OH)D3 (odds ratio (OR) 0.28; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.14-0.56) and 25(OH)D (OR 0.43; 95% CI 0.23-0.80) were inversely associated with breast cancer risk among white women, but not among women in other race/ethnic groups. Using two-segmented, piecewise-linear logistic regression models, the change-points of the ORs, either for 25(OH)D3 or for 25(OH)D, were detected as 20 ng/mL among whites.. Circulating 25(OH)D3 and 25(OH)D were associated with a reduced risk of postmenopausal breast cancer among whites, but not in other ethnic groups, who reside in low latitude regions.

Topics: 25-Hydroxyvitamin D 2; Aged; Asian; Biomarkers; Black or African American; Breast Neoplasms; Calcifediol; Case-Control Studies; Female; Hawaii; Hispanic or Latino; Humans; Japan; Logistic Models; Los Angeles; Middle Aged; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; Odds Ratio; Postmenopause; Prospective Studies; Risk Factors; Sunlight; White People

Low levels of vitamin D and excess body weight are both factors associated with increased risk of cancer. The increased risk seems to be proportional to the increase in BMI, and to decrease in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) level. Our earlier investigations suggest that serum 25(OH)D levels decrease with increasing BMI. Although the connection between cancer risk, BMI and vitamin D status might be arbitrary, it has not been discussed in the literature so far. In this study, we analyze data published in current meta-analysis, prospective studies, and systematic reviews on cancer-specific risk attributed to high BMI and low vitamin D status. The contribution of low 25(OH)D levels associated with high BMI to increased cancer risk was calculated for 13 vitamin-D-sensitive cancers with a focus on colorectal and breast cancer as the most frequently studied vitamin-D-sensitive cancer types. Our study suggests that a low vitamin D status may explain at least 20% of the cancer risk attributable to high BMI. The contribution of low 25(OH)D to the increased cancer risk with increasing BMI may be different for different cancer types. Thus, we find 40% for breast cancer, and 26 and 75% for colorectal cancer in men and women, respectively.

Topics: 25-Hydroxyvitamin D 2; Adult; Body Mass Index; Breast Neoplasms; Calcifediol; Colorectal Neoplasms; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Neoplasms; Obesity; Prevalence; Risk Factors; Sex Factors; Vitamin D Deficiency; Young Adult

We obtained serum bone markers and other relevant endocrine assays on 5 patients with osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ). The assays were C-telopeptide, N-telopeptide, bone-specific alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin, intact parathyroid hormone, T3, T4, TSH, and Vitamin D 25 hydroxy. Diagnostic criteria for ONJ were those formulated by the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Four of our patients were women. Two had metastatic breast cancer and had been treated with zoledronic acid; one had also received pamidronate. Two others had osteoporosis and had been treated with daily alendronate. One man had metastatic prostate cancer treated with zoledronic acid. All patients had been withdrawn from bisphosphonate for at least 6 months. None were taking or had taken corticosteroids. None of the lesions had shown any significant healing and all were still causing the patients considerable distress. Yet the bone markers were within the normal range as measured in our laboratory, except for intact parathyroid hormone, which was slightly elevated in one case of metastatic breast cancer (177 pg/mL). Because the jaws have a greater blood supply than other bones, and a high bone turnover rate, bisphosphonates are highly concentrated in the jaws. This anatomic concentration of bisphosphonates might cause bisphosphonate-osteonecrosis to be manifested exclusively in the jaws and is consistent with our finding of normal serum bone markers in ONJ patients.

Topics: 25-Hydroxyvitamin D 2; Alkaline Phosphatase; Bone Density Conservation Agents; Bone Neoplasms; Breast Neoplasms; Collagen Type I; Diphosphonates; Female; Humans; Jaw Diseases; Male; Osteocalcin; Osteonecrosis; Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal; Parathyroid Hormone; Peptides; Prostatic Neoplasms