Two new studies using meta-analysis have revealed that vitamin D may have the potential to prevent breast and colorectal cancer, a team of researchers at Moores Cancer Center at University of California have reported.
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The researchers believe that vitamin D could prevent up to half of the cases of breast cancer and two-thirds of the cases of colorectal cancer in the US.
The breast cancer study pooled dose-response data from two earlier studies and found that individuals with the highest blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, or 25(OH)D, had the lowest risk of breast cancer.
The colorectal cancer study is a meta-analysis of five studies that explored the association of blood levels of 25(OH)D with risk of colon cancer.
“Through this meta-analysis we found that raising the serum level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D to 34 ng/ml would reduce the incidence rates of colorectal cancer by half,” said co-author Edward Gorham.
Researchers said reducing the risk of cancer with vitamin D would work best with a combination of diet, supplements and 10 to 15 minutes per day in the sun.