High level of circulating vitamin D during neoadjuvant therapy may lower risk of metastatic progression in high-risk rectal cancer

Table 1 Serum content of vitamin D and correlations with patient and disease factors

		n (%)	25(OH)D (mean ± SE), nmol/L	r	p ^a	p ^b
Median age (range), years	58.5 (30–73)	84 (100)		0.079	0.48	0.45
Sex	Female	34 (40.5)	60.2 ± 4.2
Sex	Male	50 (59.5)	58.4 ± 3.1		0.72	0.76
BMI (mean ± SD), kg/m²	24.1 ± 3.5	83 (98.8)		−0.046	0.68	0.60
ECOG	0	67 (79.8)	61.8 ± 2.7
ECOG	1	17 (20.2)	48.5 ± 5.6		0.031	0.015
Hemoglobin	Normal	63 (75.0)	63.2 ± 2.7
Hemoglobin	Anemic^c	21 (25.0)	47.0 ± 5.1		0.004	0.029
Median tumor volume (range), cm³	16.7 (1.0–293)^d	71 (84.5)		−0.267	0.025	0.024
T stage	2–3	53 (63.1)	63.0 ± 3.1
T stage	4	31 (36.9)	52.5 ± 3.9		0.040	0.028
N stage	0	11 (13.1)	62.1 ± 7.7
N stage	1–2	73 (86.9)	58.7 ± 2.6		0.65	0.95
ypT stage^e	0–3	66 (78.5)	62.4 ± 2.7
ypT stage^e	4	17 (20.2)	48.1 ± 5.6		0.019	0.018
ypN stage^e	0	56 (66.7)	61.2 ± 3.3
ypN stage^e	1–2	27 (32.1)	55.9 ± 3.5		0.33	0.21

Abbreviations: 25(OH)D 25-hydroxyvitamin D, BMI body mass index, ECOG Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, SD standard deviation, SE standard error, TN tumor-node, yp histologic response to neoadjuvant therapy
^aDescribed by Pearson correlation test or independent sample t-test
^bEstimated by linear and logistic regression models, with winter/spring and summer/fall as collapsed categories
^cAnemia was defined as hemoglobin level below the lower reference interval limit used in Norway (< 11.7 g/dL for women and < 13.4 g/dL for men)
^dThe data were log-transformed before analysis
^eOne patient died unexpectedly before pelvic surgery; as a consequence, histologic tumor response data was missing, and the single case was omitted from these analyses

ISSN: 1471-2407