Breast cancer prevention prescription: sunshine
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Source: NBC
Vitamin "D" is normally associated with strong bones, but new research indicates it may also play a crucial role in breast cancer.
The study of 500 women with the disease found three-quarters had a vitamin D deficiency upon diagnosis, and that deficit appeared to significantly increase the risk of the cancer spreading and death.
Experts say while adequate levels of vitamin D are important, don't stock up on the supplement just yet. "It doesn't really prove that Vitamin D itself is what's causing the breast cancer or what's making the breast cancer come back," said Dr. Ligibel.
A separate study from the Mayo Clinic finds mastectomy rates are up 13% among women with early stage breast cancer. The use of new MRI technology may have played a role because the machines can detect more breast abnormalities than mammograms.
"There's been an enormous growth in use of MRI, and I think that until this study we really haven't known what the consequences of that have been," said Dr. Ligibel. The study showed more than half of patients who had an MRI also had a mastectomy, while just under 40% without the scan had the surgery.
Identifying previously unseen cancers is a good thing, but studies have yet to prove mastectomy is the new gold standard.
"Women who had a mastectomy, so removing all the breast tissue, had the same long-term survival rates as women who had just the tumor removed and then also received radiation," explained Dr. Ligibel.
The studies stir more questions than answers, but researchers say the more data they can use to help women beat the disease, the better.
