Heidelberg (epd/cea). Daily intake of vitamin D could reduce cancer mortality in the population by 12 percent. This was the result of an evaluation of 14 studies of the highest quality level with a total of almost 105,000 participants prepared at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, which was presented on Tuesday. Vitamin D deficiency is widespread worldwide and is particularly common in cancer patients.
According to the current study situation, vitamin D3 intake probably does not protect against developing cancer, but it can reduce the likelihood of dying from cancer, according to Ben Schöttker, an epidemiologist at the German Cancer Research Center. However, previous studies on cancer mortality had delivered very different results.
According to the cancer research center, no statistically significant results were found in the summary of all 14 studies. However, if the studies were divided according to whether vitamin D3 was taken daily in low doses or as a rarely administered, high single dose, there was a big difference. In the four studies with the high single doses, there was no effect on cancer mortality. In the summary of the ten studies with daily dosing, however, the researchers determined a statistically significant reduction in cancer mortality of twelve percent.
Drug could inhibit tumor growth
Schöttker explains the better effectiveness of the daily vitamin D3 doses by the more regular bioavailability of the active ingredient, the hormone 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D. This only occurs through reactions of the vitamin D in the body and can probably inhibit tumor growth, it is said German Cancer Research Center.
A more detailed analysis of the studies with daily intake also showed that people over the age of 70 benefited the most from vitamin D3 therapy. In addition, the effect was most evident when vitamin D intake was started before the cancer was diagnosed.