Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, vitamin D intake, and pancreatic cancer risk or mortality: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: The associations between vitamin D status, including plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels and vitamin D intake, and pancreatic cancer risk and mortality are inconsistent. The aims of this study are to evaluate the antitumor and therapeutic effects of vitamin D status for pancreatic cancer patients. METHODS: A literature search for relevant studies was conducted using PubMed and Embase databases. Risk ratio (RR), hazard ratio (HR), and 95% confidence interval (CI) were used as the effect measures. All statistical analyses were performed using Stata software 12.0. RESULTS: Our results indicated that high plasma 25(OH)D levels were inversely associated with pancreatic cancer mortality without significant heterogeneity (HR=0.81, 95% CI=0.68–0.96). However, high plasma 25(OH)D levels could not reduce pancreatic cancer risk (RR=1.02, 95% CI=0.66–1.57). Moreover, vitamin D intake was also not associated with pancreatic cancer risk (RR=1.11, 95% CI=0.67–1.86) CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that high plasma 25(OH)D levels were significantly associated with improved survival in pancreatic cancer patients. However, there were no significant associations between vitamin D intake or plasma 25(OH)D levels and pancreatic cancer risk.