title: Vitamin D and pancreatic cancer risk - no U-shaped curve.
abstract: In a recent paper entitled "Circulating 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and the Risk of Pancreatic Cancer," Stolzenberg-Solomon et al. reported that the odds ratio for diagnosis of pancreatic cancer shows a "statistically significant" precipitous jump of more than a factor of 2 at the highest presented concentrations of >100 nmol/l. This was one of six related studies of the relation of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and six types of rarer cancers, collected by the Vitamin D Pooling Project (VDPP). An alternative analysis of the presented data suggests that the reported two-fold higher risk at the highest serum 25(OH)D level in the pancreatic cancer study is most likely a statistical artifact associated with the chosen cut-off point groupings and there is no U-shaped curve to be explained.
authors.affiliation: GrassrootsHealth, P.O. Box 234208, Encinitas, CA 92023, USA. leo@grassrootshealth.org
authors.forename: Leo L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Baggerly
authors.forename: Cedric F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Garland
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood*; D012307:Risk Factors; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D014807:Vitamin D