Study Suggests Vitamin D Screening and Appropriate Supplementation Indicated for...

Study Suggests Vitamin D Screening and Appropriate Supplementation Indicated
for All Cancer Patients

CHICAGO, June 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Vitamin D deficiency was found to
be prevalent in cancer patients regardless of nutritional status, according to
the results of a recent study conducted at Cancer Treatment Centers of America
(CTCA). Based on these results, CTCA researchers determined that screening for
vitamin D deficiency and aggressive vitamin D repletion should be considered
for all people with cancer.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090612/CTCALOGO)

"While emerging evidence suggests the protective role of vitamin D in cancer,
vitamin D status is not routinely assessed in cancer patients despite the high
prevalence of malnutrition in this population," said Carolyn Lammersfeld,
national director of nutrition for CTCA and a principal investigator in the
study.

During the study, a consecutive case series of 737 cancer patients (302 male
and 435 female) seen at CTCA between January - June 2008, were assessed for
nutritional status and categorizes into three distinct classes of nutritional
status: well nourished, moderately malnourished and severely malnourished. The
mean age at presentation was 55.7 years (SD = 10.2) and the most common cancer
types were lung (133, 18%), breast (131, 17.8%), colorectal (97, 13.2%),
pancreatic (86, 11.7%), prostate (44, 6%) and ovarian (38, 5.2%).

Before the study, the researchers hypothesized that malnutrition could
contribute to vitamin D deficiency and therefore expected mean serum
25-hydroxy-vitamin D [25(OH)D] levels to be significantly lower in
malnourished oncology patients. However contrary to what they expected,
vitamin D deficiency was found to be prevalent in cancer regardless of
nutritional status.

This study was presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)
annual meeting, May 29-June 2, 2009, and was publicly released on ASCO's Web
site, www.asco.org, on May 14, 2009.

About Cancer Treatment Centers of America
Founded in 1988, Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) is a national
network of hospitals providing a comprehensive, fully integrative approach to
cancer treatment. CTCA serves patients with advanced cancer from all 50 states
at facilities located in suburban Chicago, Philadelphia, Tulsa and suburban
Phoenix. For more information about Cancer Treatment Centers of America, go to
cancercenter.com.

SOURCE Cancer Treatment Centers of America

Kristin Schaner of Cancer Treatment Centers of America, +1-847-342-6454,
kristin.schaner@ctca-hope.com