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HealthDay News — Daily vitamin D₃ supplementation may reduce cancer mortality for some patients, according to a study published in the June issue of Ageing Research Reviews.
Sabine Kuznia, from the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, Germany, and colleagues conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the effect of vitamin D₃ supplementation on cancer mortality in the general population and on prognosis in cancer patients.
Based on 14 randomized controlled trials (104,727 participants; 2015 cancer deaths), the researchers found a nonsignificant reduction in cancer mortality (risk ratio [RR], 0.94; 95% CI, 0.86 to 1.02). However, for the daily vitamin D₃ group (10 trials), there was lower cancer mortality vs placebo (RR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.78 to 0.98). No mortality benefit was seen for a bolus regimen (RR, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.91 to 1.24; P =.042). Similar results were seen for a meta-analysis using individual patient data. The most benefit from daily vitamin D₃ supplementation trials was seen for adults aged 70 years and older (RR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.77 to 0.98) and participants with vitamin D₃ therapy initiation before cancer diagnosis (RR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.69 to 0.99).
“This work underlines the great potential of vitamin D₃ administration in the prevention of cancer deaths,” a coauthor said in a statement. “Regular intake at low doses is associated with almost negligible risk and very low cost.”
One author disclosed ties to the dietary supplements industry.
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