Table 3.

Studies investigating vitamin D levels and liver cancer survival*

Survival study	Number of patients	Key findings
German Prospective cohort study (60)	200	low levels of vitamin D were associated with increased mortality risk from HCC independently of the MELD score and high AFP levels
Nested study form Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study in Finnish smoker population (61)	206	higher levels of vitamin D were not significantly associated with better survival of liver cancer patients in a population of Finnish smokers
Guangdong Liver Cancer Cohort study (62)	1031	higher bioavailable vitamin D levels were significantly associated with better survival, independent of Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage, cancer treatment, and serum C-reactive protein neither total nor free vitamin D levels were significantly associated with survival
*Abbreviations: AFP – alpha-fetoprotein; HCC – hepatocellular carcinoma; MELD – Model for End-Stage Liver Disease.