A High Level of Circulating Vitamin D Protein Is Associated With a Decreased Risk of Kidney Cancer

Research focused on renal cell carcinoma appears to confirm the potential etiologic role of vitamin D binding protein in cancer.

In what researchers said is the second study of its kind, it was determined that circulating vitamin D binding protein (DBP) is inversely associated with the risk of kidney cancer.1 The findings, which were published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, support previous data that demonstrated that a higher DBP was linked to a decreased risk of developing renal cell carcinoma (RCC).
The current case-control study — which was nested in the American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention Study-II (CPS-II) Nutrition Cohort that began in 1992 — sought to prospectively confirm the suspected link between DBP concentration and the risk of renal cell carcinoma. It included 39,371 individuals who provided a blood sample and were free of cancer at the time of blood collection; 87 of these individuals were determined to have a primary diagnosis of RCC prior to June 30, 2009. A diagnosis of RCC was collected by way of self-reported questionnaires and confirmed through the review of medical records and the National Death Index.
The investigators found that a higher level of serum DBP concentration was inversely associated with renal cell carcinoma risk (P-trend = .02). Individuals with the highest levels of DBP were found to be younger, more likely to be female, had a lower BMI, and were more likely to be nonsmokers.
Alison Mondul, PhD, MSPH, assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and an author of the study, told Cancer Therapy Advisor that based on what is known so far, vitamin D itself doesn’t have a big effect on the risk of developing kidney cancer. But, DBP can help investigators estimate the proportion of vitamin D that is free versus bound in circulation. “Studies of other things in the body, like sex hormones, have suggested that only free, unbound hormones can have an effect. Based on a previous study, free vitamin D, just like total vitamin D, was also not associated with risk of RCC.”
Dr Mondul added that there were no strong associations seen with DBP as it related to prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, and bladder cancer. “Thus far, the association really does seem to be different for renal than for other sites. This is a relatively new area, however, and we need to do more [research] to fully understand this association.”
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