Vitamin D Deficiency Associated with Inferior Outcomes in DLBCL

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Vitamin D Deficiency Is Associated with Inferior Event-Free and Overall Survival

in DLBCL

http://bit.ly/vit-D-survival

Comment: Be aware that supplementing with D is not recommended for lymphoma

patients unless perhaps if a deficiency is idenfied, because lymphoma has a

known disruptive impact on vitamin D metabolism. See

http://www.lymphomation.org/CAM-S-Z.htm#vitamin-d leading to hypercalcemia (a

serious condition involving too much calcium in the blood).

Also, this association with better survial does not support any conclusions

regarding the remedy -- or the effect of trying to remedy a deficiency in this

population.

Key Findings:

1) Approximately 50% of all DLBCL patients in this northern US latitude

population are vitamin D deficient at the time of diagnosis and treatment.

=> That part is not surprising since vitamin D deficiency is equally common in

the general population as described here:

copying: " Vitamin D inadequacy has been reported in approximately 36% of

otherwise healthy young adults and up to 57% of general medicine inpatients in

the United States and in even higher percentages in Europe. Recent

epidemiological data document the high prevalence of vitamin D inadequacy among

elderly patients and especially among patients with osteoporosis. " Source:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16529140

2) Vitamin D deficient patients (in these samples) have an inferior event-free

and overall survival compared to patients with vitamin D levels within the

normal range.

=> This part is intriguing, and begs the questions: A) is this coincidental, or

does higher-risk DLBCL decrease serum levels of vitamin D - making it a

useful marker to identify high-risk DLBCL? ... or C) does having a deficiency in

Vitamin D contribute to resistance to treatment, which might be remedied in part

with supplementation? The latter possibility has to be asked cautiously in a

clinical trial -- with careful monitoring to avoid the known risks of vitamin D

supplementation in lymphoma survivors.

Conclusion: Expect to find the vitamin industry jumping all over this report and

exploiting it to sell vitamin D to lymphoma patients, despite the known risks of

Vitamin D supplementation in this population ... and the lack of data showing

that supplementation could improve the outcome.

All the best,

~ Karl

Patients Against Lymphoma

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