This study investigated the effect of vitamin D insufficiency on NHL prognosis: are circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH) D] levels predictive of event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) in a prospective cohort of 983 newly diagnosed patients with NHL? Mean patient age at diagnosis was 62 years (range, 19 to 94 years); 44% of patients had insufficient 25(OH) D levels (< 25 ng/mL) within 120 days of diagnosis. Median follow-up was 34.8 months; 404 events and 193 deaths (168 from lymphoma) occurred. After adjusting for known prognostic factors and treatment, 25(OH)D insufficient patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) had inferior EFS (HR 1.41, 95% CI 0.98 to 2.04) and OS (HR 1.99, 95% CI 1.27 to 3.13); 25(OH)D insufficient patients with T-cell lymphoma also had inferior EFS (HR 1.94, 95% CI 1.04 to 3.61) and OS (HR 2.38, 95% CI 1.04 to 5.41). There were no associations with EFS for the other NHL subtypes. Among patients with DLBCL and T-cell lymphoma, higher 1,25(OH)(2)D levels were associated with better EFS and OS, suggesting that any putative tumor 1-α-hydroxylase activity [the enzyme that activates 25(OH)D to 1,25(OH)(2)D] do not explain the 25(OH)D associations. (J Clin Oncol. 2010 Sep 20;28(27):4191-8.) PMID: 20713849.
