Vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of cancer
In addition to many other positive effects, vitamin D also has an important influence on the immune system. When the body is deficient in vitamin D, the body loses the ability to recognize and dispose of malignant cells more easily than with healthy vitamin D levels.
Changes to the genetic material are now more likely to be tolerated. Consequently, a vitamin D deficiency opens the door to many diseases, including cancer.
There is therefore a lot of potential in eliminating a vitamin D deficiency in terms of prevention, treatment and prognosis of the course of tumor diseases.
Vitamin D increases the chances of surviving cancer
For example, a review published in July 2014 showed that cancer patients who had higher vitamin D levels at diagnosis had better chances of surviving and staying in remission longer than vitamin D-deficient patients (below 75 nmol/L or below 30 ng/ml) ( 1 )
According to this study, an increase in the vitamin D level by 10 nmol/l (4 ng/ml) in cancer patients is already associated with a 4 percent increase in survival rate – particularly in the case of breast cancer and colon cancer as well as malignant changes in the lymphatic tissue.
The researchers involved advised:
“Physicians should definitely consider vitamin D levels in cancer patients.”
The lower the vitamin D level, the more malignant the cancer
In a study conducted in Clinical Cancer Research Journal was published, it is even assumed that there is a possible connection between vitamin D deficiency and particularly aggressive prostate tumors ( 2 ) ( 3 ).
This was the result of observations on 667 men between the ages of 40 and 79. The study participants were Americans – of both European and African origin.
In the case of African-Americans in particular, it has been shown that a low vitamin D level is associated with the occurrence of particularly aggressive prostate tumors.
In the men of European descent, the degree of malignancy of the tumor was increased with a vitamin D level below 12 ng/ml. In men of African descent, a vitamin D level of less than 20 ng/ml was sufficient to increase the malignancy of the prostate cancer.
As a result, low vitamin D levels can increase the risk of cancer and increase the malignancy of the tumor in question. In the case of cancer of any kind, it is therefore essential to keep an eye on the vitamin D level and, if necessary, bring it to a healthy level with high-quality food supplements.