Lower Blood Calcium Associates with Unfavorable Prognosis and Predicts for Bone Metastasis in NSCLC

Ionized calcium was involved in various cellular signal pathways,and regulates many cellular processes, including those relevant to tumorigenesis. We hypothesis that imbalance of calcium homeostasis is correlated with development of lung carcinomas. We collected the clinical data of 1084 patients with non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated in Shandong Provincial Hospital, Shandong University. Logistic regression was used to determine the association between calcium levels and clinical characteristics, and COX regression and Kaplan-Meier model were applied to analyze risk factors on overall survival. Blood electrolytes were tested before treatment; and nearly 16% patients with NSCLC were complained with decreased blood calcium, which is more frequent than that in other electrolytes. Further, Multivariate logistic regression analysis disclosed that there were significant correlation between blood calcium decrease and moderate and poor differentiation (P = 0.012, OR = 1.926 (1.203–4.219)), squamous cell carcinoma (P = 0.024, OR = 1.968(1.094–3.540)), and bone metastasis (P = 0.032, OR = 0.396(0.235–0.669)). In multivariate COX regression analysis, advanced lymph node stage and decreased blood calcium were significantly and independent, unfavorable prognostic factors (P<0.001). Finally, the Kaplan-Meier Survival curve revealed that blood calcium decrease was associated with shorter survival (Log-rank; χ2 = 26.172,P<0.001). Our finding indicates that lower blood calcium levels are associated with a higher risk of unfavorable prognosis and bone metastasis of NSCLC

Blood Magnesium, and the Interaction with Calcium, on the Risk of High-Grade Prostate Cancer

Ionized calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) compete as essential messengers to regulate cell proliferation and inflammation. We hypothesized that inadequate Mg levels, perhaps relative to Ca levels (e.g. a high Ca/Mg ratio) are associated with greater prostate cancer risk.In this biomarker sub-study of the Nashville Men's Health Study (NMHS), we included 494 NMHS participants, consisting of 98 high-grade (Gleason≥7) and 100 low-grade cancer cases, 133 prostate intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) cases, and 163 controls without cancer or PIN at biopsy. Linear and logistic regression were used to determine associations between blood Ca, Mg, and the Ca/Mg ratio across controls and case groups while adjusting for potential confounding factors.Serum Mg levels were significantly lower, while the Ca/Mg ratio was significantly higher, among high-grade cases vs. controls (p = 0.04, p = 0.01, respectively). Elevated Mg was significantly associated with a lower risk of high-grade prostate cancer (OR = 0.26 (0.09, 0.85)). An elevated Ca/Mg ratio was also associated with an increased risk of high-grade prostate cancer (OR = 2.81 (1.24, 6.36) adjusted for serum Ca and Mg). In contrast, blood Ca levels were not significantly associated with prostate cancer or PIN.Mg, Ca, or Ca/Mg levels were not associated with low-grade cancer, PIN, PSA levels, prostate volume, or BPH treatment.Low blood Mg levels and a high Ca/Mg ratio were significantly associated with high-grade prostate cancer. These findings suggest Mg affects prostate cancer risk perhaps through interacting with Ca

Serum calcium and the risk of prostate cancer

Recent studies have suggested an association between high dietary intake of calcium and the risk of prostate cancer. Calcium-rich diet has been suggested to affect the serum levels of Vitamin D, and thereby promote cancer. We conducted the largest study of the association between prediagnostic serum levels of calcium and the risk of prostate cancer. We examined the incidence of prostate cancer in relation to prediagnostic serum calcium levels in a prospective cohort study of 22,391 healthy Swedish men, of which 1,539 incident cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed during the 30 years of follow-up until December 2006. Serum levels of calcium were measured at baseline, and categorized into quartiles. Cox regression was used to estimate the adjusted hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). We found no evidence of an association between prediagnostic serum levels of calcium and risk of prostate cancer (HR for trend = 0.99 [95% CI;0.94-1.03]). However, a moderate significant negative association was seen in men with a BMI above 25 and aged below 45 years at baseline (Highest vs. lowest quartile, HR = 0.63 [95% CI;0.40-0.99]). These data do not support the hypothesis that high serum calcium levels is a risk factor for prostate cancer. On the contrary, the data suggest that high serum levels of calcium in young overweight men may be a marker for a decreased risk of developing prostate cancer