Background: In recent years, epidemiologic and laboratory studies have implied that vitamin D deficiency has a role in the pathogenesis of breast cancer. It has shown that vitamin D can prevent tumor progression induced by carcinogens and inhibit the carcinogenic effects of high fat diet on breast tissue and growth of tumor cells. This study aimed to evaluate serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level and its role in relation to tumor characteristics and different stages of disease in women with breast cancer.
Subject and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study on 200 patients with breast cancer at different stages of the disease. Information on age, menstrual status, BMI, and tumor characteristics were recorded. Serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D concentrations were measured by refigures dioimmunoassay (RIA). Mean and standard deviation were used to describe the data. Meanwhile, T-test and sum of squares test were used to analyze the data. P<0.05 was considered significant.
Results: Among 200 patients, 47 (23.5%) had severe vitamin D deficiency, 75 (37.5 %) had mild vitamin D deficiency and 78 (39.0 %) had sufficient vitamin D levels of serum. There was a significant correlation between low vitamin D levels and advanced stage of breast cancer, particularly in postmenopausal patients.
Conclusion: It seems that lower levels of vitamin D accompany worse clinicopathologic features. Thus, treatment of vitamin D deficiency in postmenopausal patients might be of great benefits.