title: Vitamin D in colorectal, breast, prostate and lung cancer: a pilot study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many studies have demonstrated the relationship between vitamin D and cancer of many different sites, including of the breast, colorectum, prostate and lung. Most epidemiological studies have assessed the effects of dietary intake only, although endogenous production after sun exposure is the main source of vitamin D. The aim of our pilot study was to study serum levels of vitamin D in general population and in patients with different type of cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  The control group consisted of 214 healthy individuals. Pathological groups of patients included 170 patients with different cancer types (28 patients with prostate cancer, 43 patients with breast cancer, 49 patients with colorectal cancer and 50 patients with lung cancer). All of the patients were enrolled in the early clinical stage of cancer up to clinical stage III. Advanced stages were not included into the study. Vitamin D serum levels were measured using ECLIA Roche method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All the results for serum vitamin D from pathological groups were significantly lower compared to the levels of the control group. All the cancer types had a high incidence rate of very low serum levels of vitamin D. Lung cancer had the highest incidence rate of very low vitamin D serum levels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found a high incidence of hypovitaminosis D in cancer patients compared to a healthy control group among a Czech population. This incidence rate is higher in comparison to data found in literature from the other parts of the world. Based on the data from this study, a large epidemiological study monitoring vitamin D serum levels in the healthy population and in cancer patients in the Czech Republic has been already proposed.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Epidemiology, Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Medicine, Pilsen, E. Benese 13, CZ-305 99 Pilsen, Czech Republic. pazdiora@fnplzen.cz
authors.forename: Petr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pazdiora
authors.forename: Sarka
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Svobodova
authors.forename: Radka
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fuchsova
authors.forename: Radek
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kucera
authors.forename: Marketa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Prazakova
authors.forename: Jindra
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vrzalova
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Narsanska
authors.forename: Marketa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Strakova
authors.forename: Inka
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Treskova
authors.forename: Ladislav
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pecen
authors.forename: Vladislav
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Treska
authors.forename: Lubos
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Holubec
authors.forename: Milos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pesek
authors.forename: Jindrich
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Finek
authors.forename: Ondrej
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Topolcan
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000097:blood; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000097:blood*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D014807:Vitamin D