Vitamin D ‘cuts breast cancer risk’

Young women who have high calcium and vitamin D intakes may have a lower risk of developing breast cancer, new research claims.

Scientists from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School argue that consuming higher amounts of these nutrients is moderately associated with a lower risk of breast cancer in women before they reach the menopause.

They studied 10,578 premenopausal and 20,909 postmenopausal women age 45 and older. The women were questioned on their lifestyle, medical history and food consumption.

Writing in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, the researchers say they found that over an average of ten years of follow-up, 276 premenopausal women and 743 postmenopausal women developed breast cancer.

The lower risk of developing breast cancer was more pronounced for more aggressive breast tumours.

One possible explanation for the link, the researchers claim, may be related to the relationship between calcium, vitamin D and ‘insulin-like growth factors’ (IGFs).

“Studies have suggested that calcium and vitamin D exert anticarcinogenic effects on breast cancer cells expressing high levels of IGF-1 and IGF binding protein 3,” they write.

“Calcium, vitamin D and IGF binding protein 3 have been shown in vitro to interact with each other in promoting growth inhibition in breast cancer cells.”

The researchers conclude that further investigated is warranted to study the potential use of using calcium and vitamin D to reduce the risk of breast cancer.