The association of serum vitamin D3 and vitamin D binding protein levels before and after treatment with the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in Egyptian breast cancer patients: a prospective observational study.

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc, published as an observational study.

Cosidering that most studies of relations between vitamin D level and breast cancer were conducted outside Africa and considering the fact that populations differ in sun exposure, dietary habits, and genetic construction, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between serum levels of vitamin D3 and vitamin D- binding protein (VDBP) with pathological response, clinicopathological characteristics, and various biological markers in Egyptian breast cancer patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT).

Why It Was Studied

Vitamin D regulates cell growth and differentiation, encourages pro-apoptotic effect, stimulates antiangiogenic effect, and affects both innate and adaptive immunity.

However, serum vitamin D level could differ between countries according to geographic, genetic, and dietary factors.

Who Took Part

The study group was 71 patients.

The age groups tagged for this paper are adults, middle-aged adults and older adults, women only.

A total of 71 female breast cancer patients (mean age: 57 years) were enrolled in this prospective observational study.

How the Study Was Run

Fasting blood samples were collected 1 day before and 3 months after initiation of NACT.

Serum levels of vitamin D3 and V DBP were quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively.

Tumor expression of Ki-67, HER2, progesterone receptor (PR), and estrogen receptor (ER) was assessed via immunohistochemistry.

Serum levels of CA 15-3 and Bcl-2 were also measured.

What Was Measured

However, serum vitamin D level could differ between countries according to geographic, genetic, and dietary factors.

PubMed files the paper under topics including Vitamin D-Binding Protein, Egypt, Neoadjuvant Therapy, Breast Neoplasms, Cholecalciferol and Biomarkers, Tumor.

The authors tagged it with the keywords Breast cancer, Neoadjuvant chemotherapy, Prognostic biomarkers and Vitamin D3.

What This Means in Plain Language

This is an observational study of Vitamin D, K2, Magnesium and Zinc in 71 patients.

Results are reported in around 9 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 2026 (Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology), a journal based in Germany.

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