Vitamin D Deficiency and Carotid Media-Intima Thickness in Childhood Cancer Survivors

Abstract

Childhood cancer survivors (CCS) are predisposed to developing numerous late effects of anticancer treatment later in life. The existing literature suggests that vitamin D deficiency (VDD) may influence cardiovascular abnormalities and metabolic diseases. The objectives of this study were to investigate the prevalence of VDD among childhood cancer survivors and examine the association of vitamin D deficiency and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT). The study comprised 111 childhood cancer survivors (62 males, 49 females) with a median follow-up time of 6.14 years. Vitamin D status was determined by measuring serum 25(OH)D levels using the automatic immunoenzymatic method. Ultrasonography of the common carotid artery (CCA), the carotid bulb, and the proximal part of the internal carotid artery (ICA) was conducted. Vitamin D deficiency (<20 ng/mL) was detected in 69.4% of CCS. A higher parathormone level and increased BMI were observed among VDD survivors. No effects of type of diagnosis, radiotherapy or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation on vitamin D status were observed. Our findings reveal that survivors with VDD exhibited significantly greater thickness in the CCA and carotid bulb. In conclusion, the results of our study of childhood cancer survivors demonstrate that vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in up to 70% of individuals. We did not confirm the hypothesis that factors related to anticancer treatment used during childhood contributed to the higher prevalence of VDD. Additionally, we did not verify the contribution of vitamin D deficiency to the increase in IMT thickness.