Vitamin D Levels in Subjects with Prostate Cancer Compared to Age-Matched Controls

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most common cancer in men worldwide and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men in the United States. Vitamin D is considered to have anticancer properties, currently thought to work mainly through its nuclear receptor or vitamin D receptor. In this retrospective study, we compared vitamin D levels in subjects with PCa with those of age-matched men without PCa. Study subjects included 479 in each group with a mean age of 73 and a mean creatinine of 1.05 and 1.15. Levels of 25 (OH) vitamin D were 28.4 ± 0.54 and 28.05 ± 0.62 in subjects with and without PCa. Levels of 1,25 (OH) vitamin D were 47.2 ± 6.8 and 47.1 ± 7.11 in subjects with and without PCa. In contrast to other studies, we did not find a significant difference in vitamin D levels. Among prostate cancer patients, vitamin D levels correlated positively with age (r = 0.12, P < 0.02), and were negatively associated with BMI (r = −0.13, P = 0.003), glucose (r = −0.12, P < 0.007), HbA1C (r = −0.16, P = 0.001), and PTH (r = −0.21; P < 0.0001). The data do not show the causal effect of vitamin D levels on PCa.