Determination of serum vitamin D3 levels in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Background :  Regarding the role of vitamin D3 as a steroid hormone in regulating the metabolism of minerals and bone homeostasis, its antitumor role has been confirmed in epidemiologic and empirical studies. Accordingly, this investigation conducted on acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients to understand whether vitamin D3 has role in increasing the risk of getting ALL or not. M a ter i a l s  a n d  Met hod s : In this study, 40 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia were included after confirmation of cytological tests in Hamedan, Qazvin and Tehran. Moreover, 40 healthy persons without any hematologic diseases in both themselves and their immediate relatives were selected. The level of vitamin D3 in blood serum of patients and control group was measured with Chemiluminscence method. R es u l ts : Ninety percent of the subjects in the experimental group and 75% of the control group suffered from severe vitamin D3 deficiency. 10% of the experimental group and 20% of the control group had a mild to moderate vitamin D3 deficiency and range from 10 - 19 ng / ml. Among ALL patients, none of them had the desired level (20- 50 ng / ml) of vitamin D3, while two persons in the control group had a desirable level of vitamin D3 with a range of 20- 50 ng / ml. It is found that there is a significant difference between mean of vitamin D3 level in acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients and healthy control group (p <0.05). C o n c l u s i on : It seems that there is a correlation between the incidence of ALL and serum vitamin D3 level.  However, additional studies are needed to understand more about the mechanisms of this.