Heidelberg – According to current studies, vitamin D intake is associated with reduced cancer mortality. Could anti-inflammatory effects of the vitamin be the cause? A meta-analysis carried out at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) has now revealed that vitamin D intake lowers the serum levels of an important inflammatory marker in people suffering from cancer or precancerous lesions.
Vitamin D deficiency is widespread worldwide and is particularly common in cancer patients. Whether vitamin D supplementation can prevent the development of cancer or improve the prognosis of cancer patients has already been investigated in numerous studies. According to current studies, regular vitamin D3 intake reduces the probability of dying from cancer by around twelve percent.
The biological mechanisms by which vitamin D influences the outcome of cancer are still largely unexplained. There is evidence of an influence of the vitamin on pro-inflammatory signaling pathways. “High levels of inflammatory markers in cancer patients are often associated with an unfavorable outcome of the disease. This is especially true for colon, breast, pancreas, liver and prostate cancer. It therefore seems plausible that vitamin D supplementation counteracts the pro-inflammatory processes and can thus have a beneficial effect on the course of the disease,” says Hermann Brenner from the German Cancer Research Center.
In order to test this assumption, scientists led by Brenner carried out a systematic literature search for the first time, in which they summarized studies on the effect of vitamin D supplementation on various inflammatory markers. The researchers considered eight studies. A total of 592 included participants suffering from cancer or precancerous lesions were randomly assigned to the vitamin D arm or the placebo arm.
The DKFZ researchers found significantly lower serum levels of the pro-inflammatory tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) in study participants taking vitamin D substitution. This messenger substance is released in almost all inflammations and activates a large number of different immune cells. For two other important messengers, interleukin 6 and CRP, the researchers also observed lower levels under vitamin D substitution, but the effects were not statistically significant in the overall still very limited number of patients.
A limitation of previous studies is that all patients received the same dose regardless of their baseline vitamin D level. Hermann Brenner sees even greater potential in targeted vitamin D supplementation tailored to individual needs. His team is currently conducting a large randomized study in cooperation with numerous clinics in Germany. Initial results have already shown that vitamin D deficiency can be compensated very reliably with such personalized vitamin D supplementation.
Through careful long-term follow-up of an even larger number of patients, the researchers are now investigating how this new approach affects the inflammatory process, the quality of life and the prognosis of the patients. The first results on this will be available in the coming year.
* The threshold value of the 25-hydroxyvitamin D level in the blood used for vitamin D deficiency was 30 nmol/L (= 12 ng/ml). If one includes people with a less serious vitamin D deficiency (25-hydroxyvitamin D level in the blood
Tafirenyika Gwenzi, Anna Zhu, Petra Schrotz-King, Ben Schöttker, Michael Hoffmeister, Hermann Brenner: Effects of vitamin D supplementation on inflammatory response in patients with cancer and precancerous lesions: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials.
Clinical Nutrition 2023, DOI:
With more than 3,000 employees, the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) is the largest biomedical research facility in Germany. Scientists at the DKFZ research how cancer develops, record cancer risk factors and search for new strategies to prevent people from developing cancer. They are developing new methods with which tumors can be diagnosed more precisely and cancer patients can be treated more successfully. The Cancer Information Service (KID) of the DKFZ provides those affected, interested parties and specialist groups with individual answers to all questions on the subject of cancer.
In order to transfer promising approaches from cancer research to the clinic and thus improve the chances of patients, the DKFZ operates translation centers together with excellent university clinics and research institutions throughout Germany:
National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT, 6 locations) German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research (DKTK, 8 locations) Hopp Children’s Cancer Center (KiTZ) Heidelberg Helmholtz Institute for Translational Oncology (HI-TRON) Mainz – a Helmholtz Institute of the DKFZ DKFZ-Hector Cancer Institute at the University Medicine Mannheim National Cancer Prevention Center (together with the German Cancer Aid)
The DKFZ is funded 90 percent by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and 10 percent by the state of Baden-Württemberg and is a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers.