Original Article

Evaluation of Serum Vitamin B12 Levels in Patients with Colon and Breast Cancer: A Case-Control Study

Abstract

Background: It has been shown that increased serum levels of vitamin B12 may be associated with some malignancies. This study aimed to compare the serum levels of vitamin B12 in patients with colon and breast cancer and healthy individuals.
Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, 140 patients with colon and breast cancer were compared with 140 healthy individuals matched in age, gender, and socioeconomic status. Serum levels of vitamin B12 were measured through the Electrochemiluminescence method in both groups. The normal serum level of vitamin B12 was between 200 and 800 pg/ml.
Results: Among 280 enrolled subjects, 60 had serum vitamin B12 levels higher than 800 pg/ml. Forty-six (32.9%) patients had high serum vitamin B12 levels, compared to 14 (10.0%) subjects in the control group (P value = 0.001). The mean serum vitamin B12 level was significantly higher in the patients (380.4 ±540.2 pg/ml vs. 278.0 ±314.08 pg/ml, P value=0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in serum levels of vitamin B12 in patients with breast and colon tumors (P = 0.8). A significant positive correlation was observed between serum levels of vitamin B12 and tumor stage (P = 0.001, r = 0.49).
Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that serum levels of vitamin B12 in patients with colon and breast cancer are higher than in healthy individuals and are positively associated with the stages of cancer. 

1. Kolahdoozan S, Sadjadi A, Radmard AR. Five common cancers in Iran. Arch Iran Med. 201013(2):143-6.
2. Amirkhah R, Naderi-Meshkin H, Mirahmadi M, et al. Cancer statistics in Iran: Towards finding priority for prevention and treatment. Cancer Press. 2017;3(2):27-38.
3. Torre LA, Bray F, Siegel RL, et al. Global cancer statistics, 2012. CA Cancer J Clin . 2015;65(2):87-108.
4. Jemal A, Bray F, Center MM, et al. Global cancer statistics. CA Cancer J Clin. 2011;61(2):69-90.
5. Arendt JFB, Pedersen L, Nexo E, et al. Elevated plasma vitamin B12 levels as a marker for cancer: a population-based cohort study. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2013;105(23):1799-805.
6. Mierzejewski K, Rozengurt E. Stimulation of DNA synthesis and cell division in a chemically defined medium: effect of epidermal growth factor, insulin and vitamin B12 on resting cultures of 3T6 cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1976;73(2):271-8.
7. Green R, Allen LH, Bjørke-Monsen AL, et al. Vitamin B12 deficiency. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2017;3:17040.
8. Andrès E, Serraj K, Zhu J, et al. The pathophysiology of elevated vitamin B12 in clinical practice. QJM. 2013;106(6):505-15.
9. Benson J, Phillips C, Kay M, et al. Low vitamin B12 levels among newly-arrived refugees from Bhutan, Iran and Afghanistan: a multicentre Australian study. PLoS One. 2013;8(2):e57998.
10. Zulfiqar AA, Andres E, Lorenzo Villalba N. [Hypervitaminosis B12. Our experience and a review]. Medicina (B Aires). 2019;79(5):391-6.
11. Cappello S, Cereda E, Rondanelli M, et al. Elevated Plasma Vitamin B12 Concentrations Are Independent Predictors of InHospital Mortality in Adult Patients at Nutritional Risk. Nutrients. 2016;9(1):1.
12. Carmel R, Eisenberg L. Serum vitamin B12 and transcobalamin abnormalities in patients with cancer. Cancer. 1977;40(3):1348-53.
13. Lildballe DL, Nguyen KQT, Poulsen SS, et al. Haptocorrin as marker of disease progression in fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma. Eur J Surg Oncol. 2011;37(1):72-9.
14. Nörredam K, Chainuvati T, Gimsing P, et al. Plasma cobalamin and transcobalamin in patients with primary carcinoma of the liver. A study from Thailand. Scand J Gastroenterol. 1983;18(2):229-32.
15. Wheeler K, Pritchard J, Luck W, et al. Transcobalamin I as a "marker" for fibrolamellar hepatoma. Med Pediatr Oncol. 1986;14(4):227-9.
16. Gimsing P, Overballe-Petersen C, Hippe E. Cobalamin and cobalamin-binding proteins in plasma related to the clinical condition in chronic myelogenous leukemia. Leukemia. 1995;9(9):1604-9.
17. Lin CY, Kuo CS, Lu CL, et al. Elevated serum vitamin B(12) levels in association with tumor markers as the prognostic factors predictive for poor survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Nutr Cancer. 2010;62(2):190-7.
18. Oh HK, Lee JY, WK Eo, et al. Elevated Serum Vitamin B(12) Levels as a Prognostic Factor for Survival Time in Metastatic Cancer Patients: A Retrospective Study. Nutr Cancer. 2018;70(1):37-44.
19. Collin SM, Metcalfe C, Refsum H, et al. Circulating folate, vitamin B12, homocysteine, vitamin B12 transport proteins, and risk of prostate cancer: a case-control study, systematic review, and meta-analysis. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2010;19(6):1632-42.
20. Johansson M, Relton C, Ueland PM, et al. Serum B vitamin levels and risk of lung cancer. JAMA. 2010;303(23):2377-85.
21. Dou J, Xu W, Ye B, et al. Serum vitamin B12 levels as indicators of disease severity and mortality of patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure. Clin Chim Acta. 2012;413(23-24):1809-12.
22. Stabler SP. Clinical practice. Vitamin B12 deficiency. N Engl J Med. 2013;368(2):149-60.
23. Hunt A, Harrington D, Robinson S. Vitamin B12 deficiency. Bmj. 2014;349:g5226.
Files
IssueVol 17, No 4 (2023) QRcode
SectionOriginal Article(s)
DOI https://doi.org/10.18502/ijhoscr.v17i4.13914
Keywords
Vitamin B12; Breast cancer; Colon cancer
Rights and permissions
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
1.
Haghighat G, Khajeh-Mehrizi A, Ranjbar H. Evaluation of Serum Vitamin B12 Levels in Patients with Colon and Breast Cancer: A Case-Control Study. Int J Hematol Oncol Stem Cell Res. 2023;17(4):240-244.