Skip to main content

Archived Comments for: Variants in the vitamin D pathway, serum levels of vitamin D, and estrogen receptor negative breast cancer among African-American women: a case-control study

Back to article

  1. Ecological studies of UVB and breast cancer rates for African-Americans

    William B. Grant, Sunlight, Nutrition and Health Research Center

    14 May 2012

    Ecological studies have long linked low solar UVB doses to increased risk of breast cancer [1]. It was also shown that solar UVB doses were inversely correlated with breast cancer mortality rates for African-Americans [2,3]. In addition, it was argued that lower 25(OH)D concentrations was an important reason why African-American women had poorer survival rates for breast cancer than white-Americans [4]. A paper in press presents evidence that disparities in survival rates for 11 types of cancer are linked to lower 25(OH)D concentrations for African-Americans; consideration was given for socioeconomic status, stage at diagnosis, and treatment [5]. The differences in survival rates were consistent with differences in mean serum 25(OH)D concentrations [6] and 25(OH)D-cancer incidence relations [7].
    References
    1. Garland FC, Garland CF, Gorham ED, Young JF. Geographic variation in breast cancer mortality in the United States: a hypothesis involving exposure to solar radiation. Prev Med. 1990;19(6):614-22.
    2. Grant WB. An estimate of premature cancer mortality in the U.S. due to inadequate doses of solar ultraviolet-B radiation. Cancer. 2002;94(6):1867-75.
    3. Grant WB. Lower vitamin-D production from solar ultraviolet-B irradiance may explain some differences in cancer survival rates. J Natl Med Assoc. 2006;98(3):357-64.
    4. Grant WB. Differences in vitamin D status may explain black-white differences in breast cancer survival rates. J Natl Med Assoc. 2008;100(9):1040.
    5. Grant WB, Peiris AN. Differences in vitamin D status may account for unexplained disparities in cancer survival rates between African and White Americans. Dermato-Endocrinology. In press.
    6. Ginde AA, Liu MC, Camargo CA Jr. Demographic differences and trends of vitamin D insufficiency in the US population, 1988-2004. Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(6):626-32.
    7. Grant WB. Relation between prediagnostic serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level and incidence of breast, colorectal, and other cancers. J Photochem Photobiol B. 2010;101:130¿136.

    Competing interests

    Disclosure
    I receive funding from the UV Foundation (McLean, VA), Bio-Tech Pharmacal (Fayetteville, AR), the Vitamin D Council (San Luis Obispo, CA), and the Vitamin D Society (Canada).

Advertisement