ArticleBMC medicine2025
Micronutrient deficiency detected by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and its association with clinical outcome of cancer patients-a prospective cohort study.
Article in BMC medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Utility of preoperative outcomes of nutritional evaluation in patients with newly diagnosed ovarian cancer.Gynecologic oncology reports · 2026Article
- Preoperative nutrition in colorectal cancer surgery: mini review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundVitamin deficiency may be associated with cancer development and poor prognosis. Data on vitamin levels in patients with cancer are lacking owing to the limitations of traditional analytical methods. This study assessed the serum levels of vitamins and the prevalence of vitamin deficiency in patients with cancer using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The study also analysed the association between vitamin deficiency and clinical outcomes in patients with cancer.
methodsPatients diagnosed with malignant diseases at the largest cancer centre in China were prospectively enrolled. Nutritional risk and status were evaluated using standardised evaluation tools. Blood samples were collected upon entry and analysed for vitamin concentrations using LC-MS/MS. Survival analysis was conducted for patients with stage IV disease (N = 510). The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS), and the secondary endpoints included a 1-year OS rate and cancer-specific survival.
resultsA total of 1257 patients were included. Vitamin deficiency was common in the study, with deficiencies in vitamin D (89.4%), vitamin B1 (80.9%), folic acid (53.5%), and vitamin C (VC, 41.4%). Vitamin deficiency was more prevalent in the cancer cohort than in the healthy controls. Vitamin status was not directly related to the tumour, node, metastasis stage, or nutritional status. Patients with VC deficiency had a significantly shorter OS than those with normal VC levels (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.410, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.008-1.972, p = 0.044). After adjusting for covariates, VC status was an independent prognostic factor for patients with stage IV disease (HR = 1.451, 95% CI 1.037-2.033, p = 0.030). No significant association was found for the other measured vitamins.
conclusionsScreening for micronutrient deficiency is crucial in hospitalised patients with cancer. VC deficiency is associated with increased mortality risk in metastatic malignancies. A prospective interventional study is warranted to confirm the effects of VC on clinical outcomes in patients with cancer.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.