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Bowel cancer patients with high levels of vitamin D in their blood are more likely to survive the disease, according to research just published.
Scientists who studied almost 1,600 patients after surgery for bowel cancer found those with the highest levels of vitamin D have half the risk of dying of the disease compared with those with the lowest levels.
The study is the first to correlate the long-term survival prospects of bowel cancer patients after diagnosis with total blood levels of vitamin D.
Vitamin D, sometimes known as the ‘sunshine vitamin’, is made in the body when the skin is exposed to sunlight and is found in foods such as fish liver oil, eggs and fatty fish such as salmon, herring and mackerel.
Health experts in Bahrain often urge people to take advantage of the kingdom’s climate. GulfWeekly’s own health columnist Alia Almoayed is a strong advocate, and said: “What I’ve always found fascinating is the number of people who have vitamin D deficiency in the Middle East. You get vitamin D from the sun. But, in spite of having the most sunny days in the world, we are still lacking in this crucial vitamin!
“Some people argue that because our sun is too hot we can’t sit outside. Or, because the culture is conservative and therefore our clothing doesn’t allow for a lot of skin to be exposed to the sun.
“Whatever the reason, the fact remains that we lack a vitamin that could easily be the most important vitamin in existence – a deficiency in vitamin D can be the cause for many diseases, including asthma, heart disease and even cancer. It can also cause fatigue, headaches and depression.
“Vitamin D also plays a big role in immunity so we tend to get sick more often if it’s missing. Starting today, make sure you get at least 20 minutes of direct sun exposure every day. You will need to expose some skin to get the benefits as vitamin D is created on the skin when the sun hits it.
“Keep in mind that the darker your skin, the longer you need in the sun. And, of course, avoid midday sun and opt more for early morning or afternoon sun to avoid burning.”
In a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr Michael Holick stated: ‘Sensible sun exposure, i.e., exposing bare arms and legs for 5-30 minutes twice weekly, may be sufficient to meet vitamin D requirements’.
Malcolm Dunlop of the Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit at the University of Edinburgh who led the latest study, said it suggested vitamin D supplements may be worth exploring for bowel cancer patients.
“Our findings are promising but it is important to note that this is an observational study (and) we need carefully designed randomised clinical trials before we can confirm whether taking vitamin D supplements offers any survival benefit,” he said.
Bowel cancer, also known as colon or colorectal cancer, is the second most common cancer in Europe with around 447,000 new cases diagnosed in 2012, said the charity Cancer Research UK which funded this study.
Dunlop’s team tested blood samples from almost 1,600 patients after surgery for bowel cancer. They found the greatest benefit of vitamin D in patients with stage 2 cancers, when the tumour may be quite large but the disease has not yet spread.
Three quarters of the patients with the highest vitamin D levels were still alive after five years, compared with fewer than two thirds of those with the lowest levels, they found.
The team, whose work was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, said they now plan to set up a clinical trial to test whether taking vitamin D tablets in combination with chemotherapy can improve bowel cancer survival rates.
