Vitamin D levels in breast cancer patients on hormone therapy at a referral hospital
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21906981Keywords:
vitamin D, breast neoplasms, hormone therapy, aromatase inhibitorsAbstract
Introduction: Breast cancer is the most frequent malignant neoplasm in women worldwide. Vitamin D plays roles in neuronal, immune, bone and cardiovascular homeostasis, and its deficiency has been correlated with growth and survival of cancer cells, including breast cancer cells; moreover, low vitamin D levels have been associated with greater bone mass loss and worse arthralgia in women with breast cancer treated with aromatase inhibitors.
Objective: To determine vitamin D levels in breast cancer patients on hormone therapy attending a referral hospital.
Materials and methods: An observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in 54 breast cancer patients on hormonal treatment attending the Mastology-Oncology service of a referral hospital between January and December 2022, selected by non-probability sampling. Age, place of origin, comorbidities, serum vitamin D levels and type of hormone therapy were analyzed; vitamin D levels were classified according to Endocrine Society clinical practice guideline cutoffs (adequate ≥30 ng/ml, inadequate 21–29 ng/ml, deficient <20 ng/ml). Analysis was performed with an Excel spreadsheet.
Results: All patients were female, aged 37 to 78 years (highest prevalence between 46 and 55 years); 44.4% were from the Central department. Forty-seven percent had two associated comorbidities, mainly arterial hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia. Adequate vitamin D levels were found in 75.9% of patients, inadequate levels in 5.6% and deficiency in 3.7%, with a mean of 51.7 ng/ml. Tamoxifen was the most used hormone therapy (64.8%), followed by anastrozole (20.4%) and letrozole (14.8%).
Conclusions: In this series, most breast cancer patients on hormone therapy had adequate serum vitamin D levels, which may favorably contribute to quality of life and tolerance of adjuvant hormonal treatment.
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Copyright (c) 2024 Diana Gissel Escobar González, Nidia Martínez Báez (Autor/a)
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