Studies on the relationship between vitamin K and cancer are ongoing, with no conclusive evidence that it prevents or cures cancer. However, recent research has suggested a link between vitamin K and a decreased risk of liver and prostate cancer. Vitamin K is found in green leafy vegetables and oils, and a synthetic form of vitamin K has been shown to slow the advance of cancer cells in animals. Further research is needed to determine the extent of the connection between vitamin K and cancer.
The connections between vitamin K and cancer are still being studied. There currently appears to be no conclusive evidence that vitamin K prevents cancer or helps as a cure for it. In the late 1990s and into the 2000s, however, there were studies suggesting a link between vitamin K use and a decreased risk or susceptibility to certain types of cancer, particularly liver and cell cancer. prostate. There is also some evidence that vitamin K may help patients who have undergone specific types of cancer surgery.
Vitamin K is an essential nutrient used by the liver to make proteins that help blood clot and prevent abnormal bleeding. The vitamin gets its name from the German word for coagulation, “koagulation.” In its natural form, vitamin K is found in green leafy vegetables such as kale, broccoli, spinach and turnip greens. Soybean oil, olive oil and canola oil contain smaller amounts of the vitamin. A variant of vitamin K, called MK7, is produced by intestinal bacteria but is also found in fermented products such as cheese.
Current scientific evidence does not conclusively support a connection between vitamin K and cancer in terms of preventing or treating the disease. But research in the last decade has begun to find important connections between vitamin K and liver and prostate cancer. There seems to be some scientific agreement that these possible links are important enough to warrant further and more extensive study.
In 1998, an animal study observed that a synthetic form of vitamin K called compound 5 could slow the advance of cancer cells. Subsequent studies have suggested that other forms of vitamin K can fight cancer cells in mice. A 2006 clinical study of the vitamin K subgroup K2 indicated that it could reduce liver cancer that recurs in patients after cancer surgery. Additionally, a clinical study in Japan involving vitamin K and liver cancer found that vitamin K supplements may reduce the risk of cancer in women suffering from cirrhosis of the liver.
A European study published in 2008 found a higher risk of prostate cancer in men with low vitamin K intake. It has been pointed out, however, that people with low vitamin K intake generally have a very poor diet, the which would also affect their overall cancer risks. The most promising evidence of a positive connection between vitamin K and cancer appears to be in relation to liver cancer. A 2010 research paper published in the American Journal of Nutrition found that people with the highest vitamin K intakes have the lowest risk of liver cancer and the lowest mortality rate if they get cancer.
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