Vitamin D Supplements Could Help Prevent Immunotherapy Induced Colitis

Consuming vitamin D supplements might prevent a potentially serious side effect of a revolutionary form of anti-cancer treatment, reports a new study. The findings of the study are published in the journal CANCER.

"Immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced colitis can limit the use of such life-saving drugs leading to discontinuation of treatment. While it is one of the most common and severe adverse events of immunotherapy, there is a lack of understanding of the risk factors that could be modified to prevent colitis," said Osama Rahma, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, in Boston.

‘Immune checkpoint inhibitors are new immunotherapy, which is an effective form of anti-cancer treatment option for treating cancer but is linked to a common potentially dangerous side effect such as colitis, an inflammatory reaction in the colon. ’

Dr. Rahma and his colleagues conducted a study that examined whether taking vitamin D supplements might reduce the risk of colitis in patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors to treat their cancer. The team chose this strategy because previous studies have found that vitamin D may affect the immune system in cases of autoimmune disorders and inflammatory bowel disease.

The study included information on 213 patients with melanoma who received immune checkpoint inhibitors between 2011 and 2017. Thirty-seven (17 percent) of these patients developed colitis. Sixty-six patients in the study (31 percent) took vitamin D supplements before starting treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

After adjusting for confounding factors, patients who took vitamin D had 65 percent lower odds of developing colitis. These findings were validated in another group of 169 patients, of whom 49 (29 percent) developed colitis. In this validation group, use of vitamin D was linked with 54 percent lower odds of developing colitis.

"Our findings of a link between vitamin D intake and reduced risk for colitis could potentially impact practice if validated in future prospective studies," said Dr. Rahma. "Vitamin D supplementation should be tested further to determine if it could be a safe, easily accessible, and cost-effective approach towards preventing immunotherapy's gastrointestinal toxicity and extending the effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment in cancer patients."

Source: Eurekalert