Randomized window of opportunity trial evaluating high-dose vitamin D in breast cancer patients.

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc, published as a randomized controlled trial.

However, results of prospective randomized trials are inconsistent.

Who Took Part

PubMed tags the participants as women only.

The primary outcome was the relative change in proliferation (Ki67) and apoptosis (cleaved caspase 3 apoptotic assay [CC3]) in primary breast cancer cells pre and post treatment.

How the Study Was Run

In design terms this was a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study.

Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc and who got the comparison, which limits bias.

Neither the participants nor the staff measuring them knew who was on Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc, so expectations could not easily colour the readings.

Some participants received a placebo instead of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc, giving a reference point.

The researchers conducted a prospective, randomized, phase 2, double-blinded pre-surgical window of opportunity trial.

What Was Measured

PubMed files the paper under topics including Antineoplastic Agents, Apoptosis, Biomarkers, Breast Neoplasms, Caspase 3, Ki-67 Antigen and Neoplasm Grading.

The authors tagged it with the keywords Breast cancer, Clinical trial, Vitamin D and Window of opportunity.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc.

The abstract goes on to report its results in about 7 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 2019 (Breast cancer research and treatment), a journal based in Netherlands.

More context: the Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc compound page, all human trials.