Magnesium Treatment on Vitamin D Metabolism in Participants Completed Personalized Prevention of Colorectal Cancer Trial

One striking observation is that a large portion of the inter-person variation in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels is unexplained. In vitro and in vivo studies indicate vitamin D synthesizing and metabolizing enzymes are Mg-dependent. Magnesium (Mg) supplementation substantially reversed the resistance to vitamin D treatment in patients with magnesium-dependent vitamin-D-resistant rickets. The investigators reported in 2013 from observational studies conducted in the general US population that Mg intake significantly interacted with vitamin D intake in affecting vitamin D status as well as interacted with serum 25(OH)D in risk of cardiovascular disease mortality and, maybe, colorectal cancer mortality. The potential interaction between Mg and vitamin D was supported by two subsequent studies, including a Finnish cohort study and a mouse study.

In the parent study (Personalized Prevention of Colorectal Cancer Trial, NCT01105169), the investigators proposed to measure blood concentration of total 25(OH)D as a secondary aim using Elisa approach. However, following the novel finding of Mg-vitamin D interaction published by the investigators in 2013, they submitted a separate grant application to NCI which was funded in 2014. In the new study, the investigators proposed to use a LC-MS approach, which is more accurate and specific than an Elisa method, to measure 5 vitamin D metabolites. This new ancillary study allows the investigators to evaluate whether Mg supplementation differentially affects vitamin D synthesis and metabolism dependent on baseline serum 25(OH)D levels using existing biospecimens collected in our double-blind placebo-controlled randomized chemoprevention trial.