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Patients with melanoma (a type of skin cancer), who are deficient in vitamin D may have a lower chance of survival compared to patients who have normal levels of the vitamin.
A study, presented at the 31st EADV Congress, found that vitamin D deficient melanoma patients are twice as likely to have lower overall survival than those with normal vitamin D levels.
Melanoma develops when melanocytes (the cells that give skin colour) grow uncontrollably. In 2020, it was estimated that melanomas accounted for 4% of all new cancer diagnoses and 1.3 % of all cancer deaths in the EU.
Previous research has suggested Vitamin D may play a protective role in melanoma survival
While previous research has suggested that normal levels of vitamin D play a protective role in melanoma survival, few have looked at the relationship in more depth.
To fill this gap, dermatology researchers analysed a cohort of 264 patients with invasive melanoma from the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, to investigate whether vitamin D plays a protective role in melanoma survival.
The study investigated the differences in overall survival and melanoma-specific survival between groups using statistical analysis techniques.
Vitamin D deficient melanoma patients more likely to have poor prognosis
The results of the study showed that those who were deficient in vitamin D (lower than 10ng/mL) following a melanoma diagnosis were twice as likely to have lower overall survival than those with vitamin D levels equal/greater than 10ng/mL. However, deficiency was not shown to impact melanoma-specific survival.
The findings remained significant even when adjusting the model for age at diagnosis, sex, depth of the melanoma from the skin surface to the deepest point (Breslow index) and the season of the year, with a hazard ratio of 2.4 in the multivariate analysis.
The authors of the study say that, in contrast with previous research, this study showed that the basal characteristics at diagnosis of melanoma (age, sex, phototype of patients, location, histological subtype, Breslow index, ulceration and mitotic index of tumours) were not associated with differences in vitamin D levels.
Supplements could improve prognosis for skin cancer patients
Lead researcher Dr Gracia-Darder, from the Hospital University Son Espases, Mallorca, Spain said the findings suggest that “vitamin D has a significant impact on people with melanoma, showing in particular that vitamin D deficient patients have a lower overall survival.”
She added: “Although the mechanisms underlying the association between vitamin D and melanoma overall survival still require further investigation, this study will hopefully encourage further research examining whether vitamin D supplements may have the ability to improve the prognosis for vitamin D deficient melanoma patients and increase their overall survival.”