Association of vitamin D levels and risk of ovarian cancer: a Mendelian Randomization study

There is evidence that vitamin D could play a role in cancer prevention but it is unclear whether it protects against ovarian cancer risk as well. In the present study a method called Mendelian Randomization is employed which uses genetic variants instead of measured vitamin D serum levels to test whether genetically determined vitamin D levels are associated with ovarian cancer risk. Former studies found three genetic variants to be associated with lower vitamin D levels. These genetic variants were genotyped in 10 065 female ovarian cancer cases and 21 654 healthy controls and the association of those genetic variants with ovarian cancer risk was tested. Results of the study indicate that lower vitamin D levels are associated with a higher risk for ovarian cancer. These findings suggest that an increase in vitamin D levels might protect against ovarian cancer.

Original article: Ong JS et al. (2016) Association of vitamin D levels and risk of ovarian cancer: a Mendelian Randomization study, Int J Epidemiol. 45(5):1619-1630