Vitamin D and Diagnostic Colonoscopy for Colorectal Cancer in Indonesian Population: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the world’s third most common type of cancer. Case studies have shown an inverse correlation between serum Vitamin D levels and the incidence of human colorectal cancer. AIM: This study aims to assess Vitamin D levels in patients who underwent colonoscopy for diagnostic colorectal cancer. METHODS: This research is a cross-sectional study. This study’s subjects were patients who visited the Digestive Surgery polyclinic and underwent a colonoscopy to diagnose colorectal cancer. Level of Vitamin D was collected before the colonoscopy examination and categorized into three groups: Vitamin D with a value of < 20 ng/mL indicates a deficiency, a level of 20–30 ng/mL as an insufficiency level, and a value > 30 ng/mL as a sufficient value. A colonoscopy examination was performed to obtain a diagnosis of colorectal cancer based on anatomical pathology examination. RESULTS: Examination of Vitamin D levels from 120 subjects showed that the average vitamin level was 16.36 ng/mL, which indicates Vitamin D deficiency levels. A total of 85 (70.8%) subjects showed Vitamin D deficiency, as many as 24 (20%) showed Vitamin D insufficiency levels, and only 11 (9.2%) study subjects showed sufficient Vitamin D levels. The colonoscopy showed 60 (50%) subjects with colorectal cancer. The relationship between Vitamin D levels and the diagnosis of CRC showed a value of p = 0.60 (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: There is no significant difference between low levels of Vitamin D and the diagnosis of colorectal cancer patients.