Calcium + D May Reduce Breast Cancer Risk

BOSTON—Higher intakes of calcium and vitamin D appear to be related to a lower risk of premenopausal breast cancer, according to researchers from Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School (Arch Intern Med, 167:1050-59, 2007). Using data from the Women’s Health Study, researchers evaluated total calcium and vitamin D intake in relation to breast cancer incidence among 10,578 premenopausal and 20,909 postmenopausal women aged 45 years or older who were free of cancer and cardiovascular disease (CVD) at baseline. During an average of 10 years of follow-up, 276 premenopausal and 743 postmenopausal women had a confirmed diagnosis of incident invasive breast cancer. An inverse association was seen between total calcium and vitamin D intake and premenopausal breast cancer; the hazard ratios in the group with the highest relative to the lowest quintile of intake were 0.61 for calcium and 0.65 for vitamin D. The researchers also suggested the apparent protection in premenopausal women may be more pronounced for more aggressive breast tumors. No protective associations were seen in the postmenopausal group.

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