Sufficient Vitamin D Boosts Leukemia Survival

ROCHESTER, Minn.Patients with insufficient levels of vitamin D when diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) progressed much faster and were about twice as likely to die as were patients with adequate levels of vitamin D, according to a new study published online the journal Blood.

Researchers at Mayo Clinic found increasing vitamin D levels across patients matched longer survival times and decreasing levels matched shortening intervals between diagnosis and cancer progression. The association also remained after controlling for other prognostic factors associated with leukemia progression.

Vitamin D can be obtained from a number of sources, including skin exposure to sunlight, certain foods such as fatty fish and eggs, and dietary supplements.

This finding may be particularly relevant for this kind of leukemia because although we often identify it at an early stage, the standard approach is to wait until symptoms develop before treating patients with chemotherapy," said Tait Shanafelt, M.D., a Mayo Clinic hematologist. This watch-and-wait approach is difficult for patients because they feel there is nothing they can do to help themselves. It appears vitamin D levels may be a modifiable risk factor for leukemia progression. It is simple for patients to have their vitamin D levels checked by their physicians with a blood test. And if they are deficient, vitamin D supplements are widely available and have minimal side effects."

Studies have suggested that low blood vitamin D levels may be associated with increased incidence and poor outcomes of lymphoma and colorectal, breast, melanoma, lung cancers.

According to the researchers, replacing vitamin D in some patients has proven to be beneficial. For example, they cite a placebo-controlled clinical trial that found women who increased their vitamin D intake reduced their risk of cancer development.