Treatment of vitamin D deficiency in patients with metastatic prostate cancer may improve bone pain and muscle strength.
OBJECTIVE
We performed a phase II study to determine whether pain associated with prostate cancer bone metastasis would respond to vitamin D replacement and parameters of muscle strength would be improved by vitamin D replacement therapy.


METHODS
After a 4-week placebo period, eligible patients received orally 2,000 units vitamin D daily for 12 weeks. Pain questionnaires and measurements of muscle strength were competed at study enrollment and every 4 weeks thereafter. Serum calcium and vitamin D were measured at each clinic visit.


RESULTS
A total of 16 patients with advanced hormone refractory prostate cancer were enrolled in this phase II study, of whom 7 (44%) had decreased baseline vitamin D. With vitamin D treatment, 4 patients (25%) had improvement in pain scores and 6 (37%) had improvement in muscle strength measurements. Improvement in pain scores correlated with improvement in subjective symptoms but did not result in a significant decrease in regular scheduled analgesic requirements.


CONCLUSIONS
Vitamin D deficiency develops in a significant percent of patients with advanced hormone refractory prostate cancer. Supplementation with vitamin D may be a useful adjunct for improving pain, muscle strength and quality of life in this patient population.
Van Veldhuizen
P J
PJ
Department of Internal Medicine, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Kansas City, Missouri 64128, USA.
Taylor
S A
SA
Williamson
S
S
Drees
B M
BM
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000556:secondary*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018908:Muscle Weakness / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology
D014807:Vitamin D