Researchers from the UI and Mayo Clinic have found that the amount of vitamin D in patients being treated for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma was strongly associated with cancer progression and overall survival. The results are being presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, which runs Dec. 5 to Tuesday.

The researchers’ study of 374 newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients found that 50 percent had deficient vitamin D levels. Patients with deficient vitamin D levels had a 1.5 times greater risk of disease progression and two times greater risk of dying, compared with patients with optimal vitamin D levels after accounting for other patient factors associated with worse outcomes.

The researchers participate in the UI/Mayo Clinic Lymphoma Specialized Program of Research Excellence. Researchers from the UI included George Weiner and Brian Link.

— by Sam Lane