Lee Swanson Research Update

Study Supports Prostate Benefits from Vitamin K

May 2009

An improved vitamin K2 status may reduce the risk of prostate cancer, suggest results from German scientists that build the science linking the vitamin to improved prostate health.

Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center report that an improved status of the vitamin was linked to a lower risk of both advanced-stage prostate cancer and high-grade prostate cancer. The authors, led by Katharina Nimptsch, published their findings in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

According to the European School of Oncology, over half a million new cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed every year world wide, and the cancer is the direct cause of over 200,000 deaths. More worryingly, the incidence of the disease is increasing with a rise of 1.7 percent over 15 years.

The study adds to a small but ever-growing body of science supporting the potential health benefits of vitamin K, most notable for bone and blood health, but also recently linked to improved skin health.

Last year, the same researchers reported that increased intakes of vitamin K2, but not K1, were associated with a 35% reduction in prostate cancer risk. The potential benefits of K2 were more pronounced for advanced prostate cancer.

The findings were based on data from the 11,319 men taking part in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) Heidelberg cohort, and were published in the April 2008 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Vol. 87, pp. 985-992).

Commenting on the new study, Nimptsch and her co-workers said: "In this nested case-control study including 250 prostate cancer cases and 494 matched controls, we aimed to confirm this cancer-protective effect using serum undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC), a biomarker of vitamin K status inversely associated with vitamin K intake."

A higher ratio of ucOC to intact total osteocalcin (iOC) is indicative of poorer vitamin K status.

Nimptsch and her co-workers recruited 250 people with prostate cancer and 494 healthy controls. Levels of ucOC and iOC were analyzed from serum samples and every 0.1 increment in the ratio was associated with a 38% increase in advanced-stage prostate cancer, and a 21% increase in high-grade prostate cancer. No relationship between ucOC/iOC and total prostate cancer was observed, they said.

"The increased risks of advanced-stage and high-grade prostate cancer with higher serum ucOC/iOC ratio strengthen the findings for dietary menaquinone intake," concluded Nimptsch and her co-workers.

Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention 18(1):49-56, 2009

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