Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2009;11(4):R64.
doi: 10.1186/bcr2356. Epub 2009 Aug 28.

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations and postmenopausal breast cancer risk: a nested case control study in the Cancer Prevention Study-II Nutrition Cohort

Marjorie L McCullough  1 , Victoria L Stevens, Roshni Patel, Eric J Jacobs, Elizabeth B Bain, Ronald L Horst, Susan M Gapstur, Michael J Thun, Eugenia E Calle
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations and postmenopausal breast cancer risk: a nested case control study in the Cancer Prevention Study-II Nutrition Cohort

Marjorie L McCullough et al. Breast Cancer Res. 2009.

Abstract

Introduction: Vitamin D status measured during adulthood has been inversely associated with breast cancer risk in some, but not all, studies. Vitamin D has been hypothesized to prevent breast cancer through genomic and non-genomic actions in cell-cycle regulation.

Methods: A subset (n = 21,965) of female participants from the prospective Cancer Prevention Study-II (CPS-II) Nutrition Cohort provided a blood sample from 1998-2001 and were followed through 2005. We measured serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) in 516 verified incident cases and 516 controls, matched on birth date (+/- 6 months), date of blood draw (+/- 6 months) and race. Information on medical history, risk factors and lifestyle was available from repeated questionnaires. We computed multi-variable odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for the association between 25(OH)D quintile and breast cancer risk using unconditional logistic regression, controlling for matching factors and additional confounders.

Results: We observed no association between 25(OH)D and breast cancer (OR = 1.09, 95% CI 0.70-1.68, P = 0.60) for the top vs bottom quintile. Using a priori cut-points, the OR was 0.86 (95% CI 0.59-1.26), for > or =75 vs <50 nmol/L. Results were not different when the first two years of follow-up were excluded, or in analyses stratified by season, latitude, BMI, postmenopausal hormone use, or by tumor grade or estrogen receptor status.

Conclusions: These results do not support an association between adulthood serum 25(OH)D and postmenopausal breast cancer. We cannot rule out an association with 25(OH)D status earlier in life.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Restricted cubic spline showing the fully adjusted associations between serum 25(OH)D levels and breast cancer risk in 1032 participants in the Cancer Prevention Study-II Nutrition Cohort. The reference value is less than 36.7 nmol/L. The knots are defined by the quintile cut points for 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and are 36.7, 49.8, 60.8, and 73.2.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. American Cancer Society . Cancer Facts & Figures 2009. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2009.
    1. World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research Food, Nutrition, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective. Washington DC AICR. 2007 doi: 10.1016/0091-7435(90)90058-R. - DOI
    1. Garland FC, Garland CF, Gorham ED, Young JF. Geographic variation in breast cancer mortality in the United States: a hypothesis involving exposure to solar radiation. Prev Med. 1990;19:614–622. doi: 10.1016/0091-7435(90)90058-R. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Norman AW. From vitamin D to hormone D: fundamentals of the vitamin D endocrine system essential for good health. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008;88:491S–499S. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-06-0865. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Knight JA, Lesosky M, Barnett H, Raboud JM, Vieth R. Vitamin D and reduced risk of breast cancer: a population-based case-control study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2007;16:422–429. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwm259. - DOI - PubMed