Study links vitamin D deficiency, cancer

    A new study by the Commonwealth Medical School in Scranton has found three-quarters of cancer patients don’t have enough vitamin D. That’s raising the question of whether the vitamin could play a role in preventing–or predicting–cancer.

    Lead author Thomas Churilla said the patients fell into two groups, those with relatively lower levels of vitamin D and those with relatively higher levels. Researchers found the patients with low levels of vitamin D were more likely to have advanced stage disease.

    The researchers plan to revisit the study to see if the patients’ outcomes had any relationship with their vitamin D levels prior to treatment. The study involved 160 patients.

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