The Impact of Vitamin D and Its Dietary Supplementation in Breast Cancer Prevention: An Integrative Review

Nutrients. 2024 Feb 20;16(5):573. doi: 10.3390/nu16050573.

Abstract

Vitamin D deficiency is currently a significant public health issue closely linked to numerous diseases, such as breast cancer. This study aims to determine the estimated optimal serum levels of vitamin D to have a protective effect against breast cancer, in addition to exploring the biological mechanisms and risk factors involved. A literature search of articles published in the last 5 years was conducted, and simple statistical analyses using mean and standard deviation were performed to calculate the average concentration of vitamin D from different available studies. It has been observed that serum levels of vitamin D ≥ 40.26 ng/mL ± 14.19 ng/mL could exert a protective effect against breast cancer. Additionally, various biological mechanisms, such as those related to the immune system, and risk factors like diet implicated in this relationship were elucidated. Consequently, it can be concluded that proper serum levels of vitamin D may have a protective effect against breast cancer, and dietary supplementation may be an appropriate procedure to achieve these optimal vitamin D concentrations.

Keywords: breast cancer; mechanism of action; optimal levels; prevention; risk factors; vitamin D.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Breast Neoplasms*
  • Dietary Supplements
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Vitamin D
  • Vitamin D Deficiency*
  • Vitamins

Substances

  • Vitamin D
  • Vitamins

Grants and funding

The research leading to these results was supported by the Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (JU) under the UP4HEALTH Project granted by H2020-BBI-JTI-2019 (2020–2023) (Grant Agreement No 888003), WHEATBIOME granted by HORIZON-CL6-2022-FARM2FORK-01 (2023–2026) (Grant Agreement ID: 101084344), PROMISEANG granted by HORIZON-JU-CBE-2022-R-04 (2023–2026) (Project ID: 101112378), SOSFood granted by HORIZON-CL6-2023-GOVERNANCE-01-17 (2023–2026) and RYC2022-036690-I granted by MICINN.