Association of vitamin D deficiency and insulin resistance with breast cancer in premenopausal Algerian women: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Low 25(OH)D levels are mainly related to breast cancer (BC) risk in postmenopausal women, while the impact of insulin resistance (IR) on BC prognosis is controversial. OBJECTIVE: Considering the high prevalence of BC in younger Algerian women, this cross-sectional study analyzed whether vitamin D status and IR are biomarkers for breast tumor status in premenopausal women. METHODS: In 96 women (mean age, 40.96±0.65years) newly diagnosed with BC, tumor status was determined immunohistochemically, classified by molecular subtype, then correlated with body-mass index, total plasma 25(OH)D, insulin and glucose levels and HOMA-IR, using Chi2, Student t, Spearman and ANOVA tests and multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: A total of 66 of the 96 patients (68.75%) showed vitamin D deficiency (9.74ng/mL). Overweight and obese patients with HOMA-IR>2.5, positive for HER2 and with high Ki-67 index had the most severe vitamin D deficiency. There was a significant association between vitamin D deficiency, high Ki-67 index (OR, 14.55; 95% CI: 3.43-82.59; P=0.00078) and IR (OR, 4.99; 95% CI: 1.27-24.47; P=0.03), and between IR and HER2-positivity (OR, 3.23; 95% CI: 1.05-10.56; P=0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D deficiency and IR are potential biomarkers for poorer prognosis in BC patients, independently of and/or synergically with high Ki-67 index and HER2-positivity in premenopausal overweight or obese women. The potential relationship of vitamin D receptor gene expression with breast cancer survival in Algerian patients will be investigated in a large cohort.

Changes of lipid and fatty acid absorption induced by high dose of citric acid ester and lecithin emulsifiers.

AIMS: To describe the effect of two food emulsifiers, lecithin (E322) and citric acid esters of mono-and diglycerides of fatty acids (E472c), on the intestinal absorption of lipids. METHODS: The experiment was conducted on 24 male Wistar rats randomly assigned in three groups. For two groups of six rats, 30% of the lipid intake was replaced with lecithin (L) or citric acid ester of mono and diglycerides, (E); the remaining 12 rats were the control group (C). Diet and fecal fat analysis was used to determine the apparent lipid absorption (ALA) and fatty acids. RESULTS: ALA was significantly lower in the group E than in the groups C and L (p < 0.001). ALA of long saturated chain fatty acids decreased while the length of the carbon chains increased, and this decrease was higher in the group E. CONCLUSION: E472c emulsifier decreased the intestinal absorption of lipids.