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    Am J Epidemiol. 2008 Oct 15;168(8):915-24. Epub 2008 Aug 27.

    Vitamin D from dietary intake and sunlight exposure and the risk of hormone-receptor-defined breast cancer.

    Blackmore KM, Lesosky M, Barnett H, Raboud JM, Vieth R, Knight JA.

    Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, 60 Murray Street, Box 18, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5T3L9. blackmore@mshri.on.ca

    Evidence has emerged for a role of vitamin D in the development of breast cancer, and there is some suggestion that its antiproliferative effect is greater in hormone-receptor-positive cells. Few epidemiologic studies have considered the association between vitamin D and hormone-receptor-defined breast cancer, and the results are conflicting. Considering 759 cases and 1,135 controls from a case-control study (Ontario, Canada, 2003-2005), the authors examined the association between vitamin D intake at specific ages and combined estrogen-receptor- (ER) and progesterone-receptor- (PR) defined breast cancer. While increased intake of vitamin D (from the sun and diet) was most consistently associated with a significantly reduced risk of ER+/PR+ tumors (e.g., odds ratio = 0.76, 95% confidence interval: 0.59, 0.97 for use of cod liver oil during adolescence), comparable nonsignificant associations were found for receptor-negative (ER-/PR-) (odds ratio = 0.74, 95% confidence interval: 0.53, 1.04) and mixed (ER+/PR-) (odds ratio = 0.79, 95% confidence interval: 0.51, 1.22) tumors. This study suggests that vitamin D is associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer regardless of ER/PR status of the tumor. Future studies with a larger number of receptor-negative and mixed tumors are required.

    PMID: 18756015 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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