Article Index > Newsletters > February 2012

Doctors said earlier studies suggest breast cancer chances increase when vitamin D levels are low. In one study, researchers measured vitamin D in the diets of 3,101 pre-and post-menopausal women with breast cancer, aged 25 to 75, and compared them to 3,471 cancer-free women of similar ages, backgrounds and menopausal status.

Overall, while there was no link between breast cancer and vitamin D from food, pre- and post-menopausal women who took a vitamin D supplement of more than 400 IU per day were 24 percent less likely to develop breast cancer compared to women who did not take a vitamin D supplement.

Although the study could not measure vitamin D in adolescence, researchers suggested that taking a vitamin D supplement during these formative years may be the most important factor in preventing breast cancer.

Reference: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; 2010 Sep; Vol. 19, No. 9, 2341-50

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