Connection Between High Blood Calcium Levels and Fatal Prostate Cancer

In a study published in the American Association for Cancer Research journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, researchers reported that there is a clear link between blood calcium level and a man’s risk of developing fatal prostate tumors. In the study, researchers collected blood samples from the 2,814 males involved in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), noting their levels of calcium in the blood. The researchers sorted the results into three different groups. The men also participated in a follow-up study, where the researchers found that compared with the group with the lowest blood calcium levels, the group with the highest levels were almost 2.7 times more likely to develop fatal prostate tumors. Luckily, these calcium levels in the blood can be treated with drugs and there is very little connection between blood calcium levels and the amount of calcium in the diet. Researchers are not sure whether the cause of the increased risk of fatal tumors is due to the actual calcium level in the blood. It is possible that the levels of parathyroid hormone in the blood, which keeps calcium levels normal in the bloodstream, cause the risk for these tumors to increase.

Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in men in the United States and it is the second most common form of cancer in men after lung cancer. Each year, an estimated 780,000 men are newly diagnosed with prostate cancer and according to the American Cancer Society, about 250,000 men die each year as a result of prostate cancer. Prostate cancer usually develops in older men, with 1 in 6 men developing prostate cancer in his lifetime. However, only about 1 in 35 men will die as a result of this cancer. If you or a loved one has experienced a delay in diagnosis or treatment of prostate or any other type of cancer, please contact the cancer malpractice attorneys at Silberstein, Awad & Miklos, serving clients in Nassau and Suffolk County, Brooklyn, Bronx and Queens. Silberstein, Awad & Miklos also serve clients located in Staten Island and Westchester County.

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