title: Vitamin D status and cancer prevalence of hemodialysis patients in Germany.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe Vitamin D (VitD) status and prevalence of cancer in a large cohort of ambulatory hemodialysis patients in Germany.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a registry study adult patients starting dialysis between 2006 and 2012 were analyzed for VitD blood levels and International classification of diseases (ICD)-10 cancer diagnoses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Almost one third (32.7%) of patients initiating dialysis, had VitD levels<12.5 ng/ml and 79.7% had levels<30 ng/ml (n=8,377). Average VitD at dialysis initiation increased from 18.0 to 23.2 ng/ml between 2006 and 2012. Prevalence of cancer in this cohort was 22.1% with genital, renal and gastro-intestinal cancers being most common. Cancer frequencies were similar in patients with high and low vitamin D levels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most chronic hemodialysis patients were vitamin D-deficient in spite of concurrent vitamin D supplementation. The burden of cancer was high in these patients. Future studies should address the role of vitamin D treatment on the course and progression of cancer in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients.
authors: Department of Medicine II - QiN-Group, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
authors: Philipp
authors: P
authors: Marquardt
authors: Research Group Heliotherapy, Department of Clinical Natural Medicine, Charité University Medical Center Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors: Rolfdieter
authors: R
authors: Krause
authors: Department of Medicine II - QiN-Group, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
authors: Mathias
authors: M
authors: Schaller
authors: KfH-Curatorium for Dialysis and Kidney Transplantation, Neu-Isenburg, Germany.
authors: Dieter
authors: D
authors: Bach
authors: Department of Medicine II - QiN-Group, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany gero.von-gersdorff@uk-koeln.de.
authors: Gero
authors: G
authors: Von Gersdorff
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000378:metabolism; D015995:Prevalence; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014807:Vitamin D
keywords: CKD; CKD-MBD; ESRD; Vitamin D; cancer; chronic kidney disease; dialysis; epidemiology; mineral and bone disease; renal replacement therapy (RRT)