Prognostic role of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in patients with liver metastases from colorectal cancer treated with radiofrequency ablation

Background and Aim: Vitamin D is implicated in the etiology of several neoplastic diseases, but its relationship with colorectal cancer survival is still unclear. Aim of this study was to determine whether vitamin D levels influence survival outcomes in colorectal cancer liver metastases patients treated with percutaneous radiofrequency ablation. Methods: We measured 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in 143 patients with 215 colorectal liver metastases who underwent radiofrequency ablation between 1999 and 2011 at our institution. The influence of 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels on overall survival and time to recurrence was evaluated in univariate and multivariate Cox analyses. Results: Median age was 68 years (range 41–85), and median number of nodules was 2 (1–3) with a median maximum diameter of 26 mm (10–48). Median survival was 44 months (36–62), and survival rate was 91.4%, 46.5%, and 42.2% at 1, 4, and 5 years in the whole cohort. Median survival was 65 months (52–74) if 25-hydroxyvitamin D >20 ng/mL and 34 months (24–41) if ≤20 ng/mL (P < 0.001). In the whole cohort, median time to recurrence was 34 months (26–47), 50 months (36–62) in the case of 25-hydroxyvitamin D >20 ng/mL and 24 months (20–32) if ≤20 ng/mL (P < 0.001). Nodule size and 25-hydroxyvitamin D resulted as significant predictors of both overall survival and time to recurrence in multivariate analysis. Conclusions: Our study provides support for the use of 25-hydroxyvitamin D as a new predictor of outcome for colorectal liver metastases patients.