Vitamin D Improves Breast Cancer Survival

Maintaining healthy levels of vitamin D in the body may help women survive breast cancer, according to a recent series of studies.

The results of five studies were released in a meta-analysis published by Anticancer Research: The International Journal of Cancer Research and Treatment. These studies involved nearly 4,500 breast cancer patients in all. Although breast cancer is possible in men, all five studies tested whether high vitamin D levels increased breast cancer survivability in women.

According to the meta-analysis, three of the five studies provided significant evidence that vitamin D increased survivability rates in breast cancer patients, while the two remaining studies provided positive results as well, but were not nearly as conclusive.

According to the researchers, the results of this analysis only adds to a growing heap of evidence that implies that healthy vitamin D levels of 600 to 1000 international units (IU) can significantly help reduce mortality rates among cancer patients. Authors of the study even cited one study in particular, which concluded that healthy vitamin D levels resulted in a 77 percent reduction in incidents of death among all combined invasive cancers, including breast cancer. The researchers are now calling for a new set of clinical trials, wishing to investigate the effects vitamin D can have on a patient in a high recommended daily dosage -- 10,000 IU of vitamin D a day.

So how does this even work? Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium, as well as aids the immune system and strengthens cell communications -- especially in nerves. This last bit is the most important, as brest cancer generally begin when a cell from another part of the body finds its way into the breast, dividing and forming invasive tissue that doesn't belong (tumor). Cell communication helps tissue cells stay where they are needed and prevents the spread of tumor cells, which travel along neural pathways and arteries. Scientists theorize that healthy levels of vitamin D may help slow the spread of cancer, as cells with healthy cell communication are better able to regulate themselves. Likewise, people with low vitamin D levels have been shown to be susceptible to more aggressively spreading cancers.

The meta-analysis was published in Anticancer Research, March Issue.