Vitamin D status and cancer prevalence of hemodialysis patients in Germany

Aim: To describe Vitamin D (VitD) status and prevalence of cancer in a large cohort of ambulatory hemodialysis patients in Germany.

Patients and methods: In a registry study adult patients starting dialysis between 2006 and 2012 were analyzed for VitD blood levels and International classification of diseases (ICD)-10 cancer diagnoses.

Results: Almost one third (32.7%) of patients initiating dialysis, had VitD levels<12.5 ng/ml and 79.7% had levels<30 ng/ml (n=8,377). Average VitD at dialysis initiation increased from 18.0 to 23.2 ng/ml between 2006 and 2012. Prevalence of cancer in this cohort was 22.1% with genital, renal and gastro-intestinal cancers being most common. Cancer frequencies were similar in patients with high and low vitamin D levels.

Conclusion: Most chronic hemodialysis patients were vitamin D-deficient in spite of concurrent vitamin D supplementation. The burden of cancer was high in these patients. Future studies should address the role of vitamin D treatment on the course and progression of cancer in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients.