A new study has found that vitamin D deficiency in patients with melanoma is associated with poorer overall survival

A new study presented at the 31st Congress of the European Society of Dermatology and Venereal Diseases (EADV) shows that vitamin D levels affect the overall survival of patients with melanoma (skin cancer).

Dermatology researchers found that after melanoma diagnosis, patients with vitamin D deficiency (less than 10 ng/mL) had twice the overall survival rate (risk ratio 2.

The retrospective study analyzed a cohort of 264 patients with invasive melanoma from a Barcelona hospital clinic to investigate whether vitamin D played a protective role

The study used statistical analysis techniques such as the Kaplan-Meir curve and cox regression model to control for confounding variables and investigate differences in overall survival and melanoma-specific survival between groups

Even based on age, sex, Breslow index (the depth of melanoma from the surface of the skin to its deepest part) at the time of diagnosis, and seasonally adjusted models, the results were significant, with a risk ratio of 2.

Compared to previous studies, our study showed that the basic features of diagnosing melanoma (age, sex, patient's light type, location, histological subtype, Breslow index, ulceration and mitosis index of tumors) were not associated

Lead researcher Dr Inés Gracia-Darder, from the University of Son Espases Hospital in Mallorca, Spain, commented: "While previous studies have determined that normal levels of vitamin D play a protective role in melanoma survival, this study aims to further understand this relationship

Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that occurs

Dr Gracia-Dard added: "Although the mechanism of link between vitamin D and overall melanoma survival needs further research, this study is expected to encourage further research to determine whether vitamin D supplementation has the ability to improve the outcome of melanoma patients deficient in vitamin D and increase their overall survival