Adding high-dose vitamin D to standard chemotherapy did not improve overall outcomes for people with advanced colorectal cancer, though it may help a subset of patients, according to study findings presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress (#ESMO2024) in Barcelona.

 

Previous studies have suggested that higher levels of vitamin D in the blood may be associated with improved survival for people with metastatic colorectal cancer. Research has also found that vitamin D may improve outcomes for women with breast cancer and might lower the likelihood of developing colorectal cancer and other malignancies in the first place.

 

Kimmie Ng, MD, MPH, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and colleagues conducted a Phase III clinical trial to test the hypothesis that adding high-dose vitamin D3 to standard therapy could potentially improve progression-free survival.

 

In the SOLARIS (Alliance A021703) study, more than 450 patients with previously untreated metastatic colorectal cancer at several hundred U.S. cancer centers were randomly assigned to receive a high-dose or a standard dose of vitamin D in combination with standard chemotherapy and bevacizumab (Avastin).

 

People who received high-dose vitamin D3 did not experience additional concerning side-effects or toxicities compared with those who got the standard dose, Ng reported. But over a median 20 months of follow-up, the higher dose of vitamin D3 did not delay progression of colorectal cancer more than the standard dose.

 

However, the researchers did observe a potential benefit of high-dose vitamin D3 for patients with left-sided cancer, meaning primary tumors that originate in the descending colon, sigmoid colon or rectum. This association requires further investigation, they concluded.

 

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