Editorial Team
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Written By: Editorial Team | Published : May 2, 2014 3:24 PM IST
Get under the morning sun sooner rather than later as vitamin D deficiency has now been linked to aggressive prostate cancer, an alarming study indicated. 'Vitamin D deficiency could be a biomarker of advanced prostate tumour progression in large segments of the general population,' said Adam B. Murphy, Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine.(Read: Do you know these 5 simple ways to prevent prostate cancer?)
More research is needed, but it would be wise for men to be screened for vitamin D deficiency and treated, Murphy added. 'This is the first study to look at vitamin D deficiency and biopsy outcomes in men at high risk of prostate cancer,' informed Rick Kittles, an associate professor in the department of medicine at University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). To reach this conclusion, scientists examined data collected from a diverse group of more than 600 men from the Chicago area who had elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels or other risk factors for prostate cancer. Each man was screened for vitamin D deficiency before undergoing a prostate biopsy. (Read: Prostate cancer tips to help you lower your level of risk)
The authors were surprised to find that vitamin D deficiency seemed to be a predictor of aggressive forms of prostate cancer diagnosis in African-American and European-American men. 'These men, with severe vitamin D deficiency, had greater odds of advanced grade and advanced stage of tumours within or outside the prostate,' Murphy added. Unless it is severe, vitamin D deficiency is fairly asymptomatic, so more effort needs to be put on screening. It is a good idea to get your levels checked on a yearly basis, said the study published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research. (Read: Risk of prostate cancer may be reduced by daily brisk walks)
What is prostate cancer?
Prostate cancer forms in tissues of the prostate (a gland in the male reproductive system) and is one of the leading causes of cancer in men above the age of 60. Most cases could be slow growing and may even go undetected and not cause any problem. Some could be aggressive and can spread to other parts of the body and are difficult to treat. It usually presents with difficulty and pain during urination, blood in the urine along with sexual dysfunction. Advanced cases may present with bone pain in addition to the urinary symptoms. Prostate cancer is very rare before the age of 40 but the risk increases with age and most cases are detected in the late 60s. (Read: Prostate cancer what you ought to know)
With inputs from IANS
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