Association Between Alterations in the Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Status During Follow-Up and Breast Cancer Patient Prognosis
Seung Taek Lim et al
Abstract
Background: Serum vitamin D status can affect the prognosis of breast cancer patients. Our aim was to
determine the association between alterations in the 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] status during follow-up
and the prognosis of breast cancer patients. Additionally, we evaluated the association between the 25(OH)D
status at the time of diagnosis and the prognosis using a detailed age and stage categorization. Materials and
Methods: Four hundred and sixty-nine Korean breast cancer patients were included. We collected patient
clinicopathological data, including their serum 25(OH)D concentration at diagnosis and at the annual followup
until 4 years after diagnosis. The patients were divided according to their 25(OH)D status at diagnosis into
a deficient (<20 ng/ml) and a non-deficient (≥20 ng/ml) group. At follow-up, patients were categorized into the
four following groups according to 25(OH)D status alterations: persistently deficient, improved, deteriorated
and persistently non-deficient. Results: At diagnosis, 118 patients were classified into the deficient group and 351
into the non-deficient group. After a median follow-up period of 85.8±31.0 months, the patients with advancedstage
disease or an older age in the non-deficient group showed a significantly better survival compared with the
deficient group. Furthermore, at the 1-year follow-up of 25(OH)D status, the persistently non-deficient group and
the improved group had better survival compared with the other two groups. Conclusions: Our results suggest
that maintaining an optimal 25(OH)D status at diagnosis and during the 1-year follow-up period is important
for improving breast cancer patient survival.
Key Words: Breast cancer - 25-hydroxyvitamin D - follow-up - Survival
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