This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Tworoger, S. S. Articles by Hankinson, S. E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Tworoger, S. S. Articles by Hankinson, S. E. Related Collections Epidemiology Epidemiology: Biomarkers

Plasma 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D and Risk of Incident Ovarian Cancer

¹ Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine and ² Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School; Departments of ³ Epidemiology and ⁴ Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts; and ⁵ Department of Pediatrics, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina

Requests for reprints: Shelley S. Tworoger, Channing Laboratory, 3rd Floor, 181 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115. Phone: 617-525-2087; Fax: 617-525-2008. E-mail: nhsst{at}channing.harvard.edu

Few modifiable factors are known to reduce ovarian cancer risk. Ecologic studies and experimental data suggest that vitamin D may reduce ovarian cancer risk. Therefore, we examined whether plasma concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (a measure of overall vitamin D status) and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (biologically active form) were associated with risk of epithelial ovarian cancer in a nested-case control study using data from three prospective cohorts: the Nurses' Health Study (NHS), NHSII, and the Women's Health Study (WHS). The analysis had 224 cases (161 from NHS/NHSII and 63 from WHS) and 603 controls (matching ratio, 1:3 for NHS/NHSII and 1:2 for WHS). Women ranged in age from 34 to 73 years (mean, 56 years). We did not observe significant associations between 25-hydroxyvitamin D [top versus bottom quartile: relative risk (RR), 0.83; 95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.49-1.39; P_trend = 0.57] or 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D levels (RR, 1.14; 95% CI, 0.70-1.85, P_trend = 0.93) and ovarian cancer risk. Study-specific associations were not statistically significant and no statistical heterogeneity existed between studies (P = 0.66, 25-hydroxyvitamin D; P = 0.40, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D). However, there was a significant inverse association among overweight and obese women for 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels (RR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.16-0.93; P_trend = 0.04). Further, those with adequate (32 ng/mL) versus inadequate 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels had a modestly decreased risk of serous ovarian cancer (RR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.39-1.05). Overall, our results do not suggest that plasma vitamin D levels are associated with risk of ovarian cancer. However, we observed significant associations in some subgroups, which should be evaluated further in other studies because increasing vitamin D intake is an easy preventive measure to adopt. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007;16(4):783–8)

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. S. Tworoger, I-M. Lee, J. E. Buring, and S. E. Hankinson Plasma Androgen Concentrations and Risk of Incident Ovarian Cancer Am. J. Epidemiol., January 15, 2008; 167(2): 211 - 218. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. S. Tworoger, I-M. Lee, J. E. Buring, M. N. Pollak, and S. E. Hankinson Insulin-like Growth Factors and Ovarian Cancer Risk: A Nested Case-Control Study in Three Cohorts Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev., August 1, 2007; 16(8): 1691 - 1695. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]