3.6. Effect of Vitamin D Supplementation in the Subgroup of CRC Patients in the Highest sCD40L Tertile
death, non-CRC, CRC, gastric cancer
ESOPHAGEAL CANCER, EVENTS, GASTRIC CANCER
The number of patients with CRC was 43 (43.9%) in the lowest, 43 (43.9%) in the middle, and 52 (53.1%) in the highest sCD40L tertile. Although not statistically significant, there was a trend towards a greater number of patients with CRC in the highest tertile. Additionally, although also not statistically significant, the median [IQR] sCD40L level in CRC patients was 126.3 [72.5–200.0] pg/mL, which was higher as compared to non-CRC individuals (115.6 [62.5–185.3] pg/mL). This suggests that CRC tended to be more prevalent in the highest tertile of sCD40L levels.Among the 52 patients with CRC and in the highest sCD40L tertile, relapse and death events occurred in 6 of 31 patients (19.4%) in the vitamin D supplementation group and 11 of 21 patients (52.4%) in the placebo group. Within this subgroup, the 5-year RFS in the vitamin D group was notably higher at 77.9%, compared to 33.2% in the placebo group, with a HR of 0.30 and a 95% CI of 0.11–0.81 (However, it is essential to highlight that no significant differences were observed between the vitamin D and placebo groups among patients classified in the “others” category, which included patients with CRC not in the highest tertile, those with esophageal cancer, and those with gastric cancer (Of note, our analysis indicated a significant interaction between vitamin D supplementation, CRC subgroup, and high sCD40L levels (