Key clinical point: Higher preoperative vitamin D levels were associated with lower odds of a complicated surgical course in older patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) undergoing resection, with deficient preoperative vitamin D levels being associated with poor overall survival irrespective of age.
Major finding: Higher vitamin D levels prior to resection were associated with a reduced risk for major complications after surgery in patients aged ≥70 years (odd ratio 0.51; 95% CI 0.27-0.95) but not in those aged <70 years, with deficient (<25 nmol/L) vs sufficient (>50 nmol/L) levels of vitamin D being associated with reduced survival irrespective of age (hazard ratio 3.39; P = .019).
Study details : Findings are from an ongoing prospective cohort study including 398 patients with stage I-III CRC who underwent surgical resection, of which 208 patients were aged ≥70 years.
Disclosures: This study was funded by the VELUX Foundation, Denmark, and the Beckett Foundation, Denmark . The authors declared no competing financial interests.
Source: Dolin TG et al. Preoperative plasma vitamin D in patients with localized colorectal cancer: Age-dependent association with inflammation, postoperative complications, and survival. Eur J Surg Oncol. 2022 (Sep 10). Doi: 10.1016/j.ejso.2022.08.040