Exploring the prognostic significance of vitamin D deficiency in pancreatic cancer: Disease progression and survival outcomes.

[BACKGROUND] Pancreatic cancer remains one of the most aggressive malignancies with limited treatment options and poor survival rates. Vitamin D deficiency has been suggested to influence cancer progression and survival outcomes in various malignancies.

[AIM] This study aimed to investigate the association between Vitamin D deficiency and disease progression as well as survival in patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

[METHODS] A retrospective cohort study was conducted, including 151 patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer between 2012 and 2022. Serum Vitamin D levels at the time of diagnosis were measured. Disease progression was evaluated through radiological assessments and clinical reports. Survival outcomes, including overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS), were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox proportional hazards regression models.

[RESULTS] Of the 151 patients, 84 (56 %) were identified as Vitamin D deficient at the time of diagnosis. The deficient group exhibited a significantly higher frequency of advanced-stage disease (stages III and IV) compared to the non-deficient group (p < 0.05). During the follow-up period, 66 (78.6 %) of Vitamin d-deficient patients and 56 (84.8 %) of non-deficient patients experienced disease progression (p = 0.51). Moreover, Kaplan-Meier analysis showed a non-significant trend toward shorter median PFS (8.95 months vs. 9.27 months, p = 0.51) and OS (17.64 months vs. 19.05 months, p = 0.616) in the Vitamin d-deficient group.

[CONCLUSION] Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent among patients with pancreatic cancer and appears to be associated with more advanced disease at diagnosis. Although a trend toward poorer survival outcomes was observed, the association between Vitamin D deficiency and OS/PFS did not reach statistical significance. Additional prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings and explore potential benefits of Vitamin D supplementation in pancreatic cancer management.