Association Between Prediagnostic Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentration and Glioma

Abstract

There are no previous studies of the association between prediagnostic serum vitamin D concentration and glioma. Vitamin D has immunosuppressive properties; as does glioma. It was, therefore, our hypothesis that elevated vitamin D concentration would increase glioma risk. We conducted a nested case-control study using specimens from the Janus Serum Bank cohort in Norway. Blood donors who were subsequently diagnosed with glioma (n = 592), between 1974 and 2007, were matched to donors without glioma (n = 1112) on date and age at blood collection and sex. We measured 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], an indicator of vitamin D availability, using liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Seasonally adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were estimated for each control quintile of 25(OH)D using conditional logistic regression. Among men diagnosed with high grade glioma >56, we found a negative trend (P = .04). Men diagnosed ≤ 56 showed a borderline positive trend (P = .08). High levels (>66 nmol/L) of 25(OH)D in men >56 were inversely related to high grade glioma from ≥2 yr before diagnosis (OR = 0.59; 95% CI = 0.38, 0.91) to ≥15 yr before diagnosis (OR = 0.61; 95% CI = 0.38,0.96). Our findings are consistent long before glioma diagnosis and are therefore unlikely to reflect preclinical disease.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Victoria Zigmont, Amy Garrett, and Jin Peng made equal contributions to the article.

SUPPLEMENTAL DATA

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher's website.

Funding

This work was funded by the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health (grant number R01CA122163 to Judith Schwartzbaum) and a Research Enhancement and Assistance Program grant from the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center (to Judith Schwartzbaum).