For people with lymphoma, low levels of vitamin D can lead to poorer outcomes, both in terms of disease progression and overall survival.
Vitamin D deficiency has been found to be associated with a variety of cancers, including prostate, multiple myeloma, colorectal and breast cancer.
Studies have shown a link between vitamin D deficiency and a worse prognosis in various types of blood cancer, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), the most common type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
A vitamin D deficiency has also been documented in patients with prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, as well as multiple myeloma.
Nearly one-half of all hypercalcemic patients with lymphoma present with inappropriately elevated circulating concentrations of the active vitamin D metabolite 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D3). However, the cellular source of the vitamin D hormone in lymphomas remains unclear.
Medical conditions that can cause vitamin D deficiency include: Cystic fibrosis, Crohn's disease and celiac disease: These conditions can prevent your intestines from adequately absorbing enough vitamin D through supplements, especially if the condition is untreated.
Vitamin D is safe for people affected by lymphoma.
Cancer risk.
Higher vitamin D levels have been consistently associated with reduced risks of colorectal cancer (12) and, to a lesser extent, bladder cancer (13). Studies have consistently shown no association between vitamin D levels and risk of breast, lung, and several other, less common cancers (14–17).
While some studies have reported positive anticancer effects of vitamin D supplementation, others have shown no effect or even increased cancer risk.
Chemotherapy is one of the main tools used to treat lymphoma. Chemotherapy medications are chemicals that kill lymphoma cells. They may be taken as pills or infusions into your veins.
Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, or DLBCL for short, is the most common form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and can advance very quickly. Like other cancer cells, DLBCL thrive on sugar in the body, drawing on it as as a source of energy it uses to divide in an uncontrolled and almost unlimited manner.
Causes of lymphoma
Exposure to radiation and certain types of chemicals can put some people at higher risk. Benzene and some agricultural chemicals have been implicated; people exposed in the workplace, who can be at highest risk, should follow occupational health guidelines to minimise exposure.
You can become deficient in vitamin D for different reasons: You don't get enough vitamin D in your diet. You don't absorb enough vitamin D from food (a malabsorption problem) You don't get enough exposure to sunlight.
Vitamin D deficiency is most commonly caused by a lack of exposure to sunlight. Some disorders can also cause the deficiency. The most common cause is lack of exposure to sunlight, usually when the diet is deficient in vitamin D, but certain disorders can also cause the deficiency.
For most adults, vitamin D deficiency is not a concern. However, some groups — particularly people who are obese, who have dark skin and who are older than age 65 — may have lower levels of vitamin D due to their diets, little sun exposure or other factors.
According to the National Institutes of Health, almost 1 in 4 U.S. adults are considered low in vitamin D. Symptoms depend on how severe the deficiency is and the person. Vitamin D deficiency has become more common over the past several years.
A number of studies have shown that vitamin D metabolites in the blood – known as 25-hydroxyvitamin D, or 25(OH)D, which is an indicator of the body's vitamin D levels – interact with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells. What is more, some studies have identified low vitamin D levels in patients with AML.
Dietary Vitamin D Increases Percentages and Function of Regulatory T Cells in the Skin-Draining Lymph Nodes and Suppresses Dermal Inflammation.
Vitamin D3 increased the percentage of TReg (CD3+CD4+CD25+Foxp3+) cells in the skin-draining lymph nodes (SDLN). The suppressive activity of TReg cells in the SDLN, mesenteric lymph nodes, spleen, and blood was upregulated by vitamin D3.
Vitamin D (from food, sunshine and supplements) changes to calcidiol in the liver, which is measured from blood to check the level of vitamin D. The half-life of calcidiol of D3 (we get from supplements and e.g. fish) is 15–30 days. Half-life is the period during which vitamin D stores decrease by half.
Studies show more than 90 percent of those with autoimmunity have a genetic defect that promotes vitamin D deficiency.