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Updated: Dec 16, 2025

Author Spotlight: Genetic Profiling for Fluorouracil Response in Gastric Cancer
Published on: May 10, 2024
Interactions Between Vitamin D and Calcium Intake, Vitamin D Receptor Genetic Polymorphisms, and Colorectal Cancer
Xin Zhang1, Yu-Jing Fang2,3, Xiao-Li Feng1
1Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, China.
Background:
Vitamin D has anticarcinogenic properties and acts through vitamin D receptor (VDR) to carry out its functions.
Aims:
This study explored the independent and combined effects of dietary vitamin D and calcium, and VDR genetic polymorphisms on colorectal cancer risk in a Chinese population.
Methods:
This ongoing case-control study recruited 488 cases with histologically confirmed colorectal cancer and 496 sex- and age-matched controls. Vitamin D and calcium intakes were assessed by a validated food frequency questionnaire, and VDR genotype was conducted for Fok I (rs2228570), Bsm I (rs1544410), Apa I (rs7975232), and Taq I (rs731236). Unconditional logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratio and 95% confidence interval after adjusting for various confounders.
Results:
No significant association was found between Fok I, Bsm I, Apa I, Taq I, and colorectal cancer risk. Higher intakes of dietary vitamin D and calcium were associated with 47% and 50% reduction in colorectal cancer risk. Significant interaction was observed between dietary vitamin D intake and Apa I polymorphisms in relation to colorectal cancer risk (Pinteraction = 0.006). Subjects with higher dietary vitamin D intake and mutant Apa I A allele had a substantially decreased risk of colorectal cancer compared to Apa I aa carriers with lower vitamin D intake.
Conclusions:
Our study supports that Apa I may interact with dietary vitamin D intake on colorectal cancer risk. However, no interactions were found between dietary vitamin D or calcium intakes and Fok I, Bsm I, and Taq I in relation to colorectal cancer risk.
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