Northwestern Medicine researchers have conducted a study in which they found that aggressive cases of prostate cancer are significantly linked to low levels of vitamin D.

As per the Mayo Clinic, a nonprofit medical research and practice group, prostate cancer is among the most common forms of cancer among men. It occurs in the prostate, a tiny gland that makes seminal fluid for sperm nourishment and transportation.

Prostate cancer goes in aggressive mode once it steps outside the prostate and possesses a high Gleason score, which indicates that the cancer tissue is extremely different from usual prostate tissue and has more chances of spreading.

The study conducted by Feinberg School of Medicine professor Dr. Adam Murphy could prove helpful for men and their physicians in monitoring the cancer instead of eradicating the prostate, a practice called active surveillance.

In a news release, Murphy said that all men must keep a track of their vitamin D levels, because those levels indicate bone health and aggressiveness of other diseases besides their significance to prostate cancer treatment.

Murphy said in the release, “All men should be replenishing their vitamin D to normal levels. It’s smart preventive health care”.

On the basis of an earlier study carried out by Murphy and his colleagues, the link between vitamin D levels and prostate cancer could also explain racial differences in prostate cancer occurrence. The previous research by the investigators showed that black men staying in sites with less sunlight have more chances of suffering from vitamin D deficiency as compared to white men.

A latest study has provided a significant association between low levels of vitamin D and aggressive prostate cancer. The research by Northwestern Medicine suggested that deficient vitamin D blood levels in men can foretell aggressive prostate cancer identified during surgery.