Vitamin K May Protect Against Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: Strikes Mostly Senior Citize

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Vitamin K May Protect Against Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma:

Strikes Mostly Senior Citizens

Findings add to data supporting a diet that includes plenty of green leafy vegetables in order to prevent many cancers as well as other diseases

April 20, 2010 - Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system and most common hematologic malignancy in the U.S., is primarily is diagnosed in senior citizens. New research from the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota has found that people with higher intakes of vitamin K from their diet have a lower risk of developing this cancer.

At the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the researchers report that the risk of developing Non-Hodgkin lymphoma was approximately 45 percent lower for participants who had vitamin K intakes in the top quartile of intake in the study (>108 ug/day), compared to participants who had intakes in the bottom quartile (<39 ug/day).

This association remained after accounting for other factors such as age, sex, education, obesity, smoking, alcohol use and intake of foods with high amounts of antioxidants.

This is reported to be the first study of vitamin K and this Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin and is derived from either plants (phylloquinone or vitamin K1) or bacterial synthesis. This study estimated intake of the plant form of vitamin K from diet and supplement use.

The most common sources of vitamin K1 in the diet include leaf lettuce and spinach, with smaller amounts found in other vegetables, vegetable oils and some fruits.

Researchers at the Mayo Comprehensive Cancer Center are studying the connection between diet and Non-Hodgkin lymphoma risk, and they became interested in a potential role for vitamin K. While vitamin K is best known for its essential function in several proteins involved in blood clotting (the name of the vitamin is derived from the German word "Koagulations"), it also appears to be important in other biological processes, including inhibition of inflammatory cytokines thought to play a role in Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, as well as pathways involved in cell cycle arrest and cell death.

Median Age of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Diagnosis is 67

From 2003-2007, the median age at diagnosis for non-Hodgkin lymphoma was 67 years of age.

The age of diagnosis by age group was ¨C

¡ñ 1.6% under age 20; ¡ñ 3.9% between 20 and 34; ¡ñ 6.9% between 35 and 44; ¡ñ 13.8% between 45 and 54; ¡ñ 19.4% between 55 and 64; ¡ñ 22.2% between 65 and 74; ¡ñ 23.4% between 75 and 84; and ¡ñ 8.8% 85+ years of age.

About hematological malignancies

Hematological malignancies are the types of cancer that affect blood, bone marrow, and lymph nodes. As the three are intimately connected through the immune system, a disease affecting one of the three will often affect the others as well: although lymphoma is technically a disease of the lymph nodes, it often spreads to the bone marrow, affecting the blood and occasionally producing a paraprotein.

>> More at Wikipedia

"These results are provocative, since they are the first work we have done on the connection between vitamin K and Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and this is a fairly strong protective effect," says the study's lead investigator, Cerhan, M.D., Ph.D., a cancer epidemiologist. "However, as with all new findings, this will need to be replicated in other studies."

The Mayo study enrolled 603 patients who were newly diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma as well as 1,007 matched cancer-free "control" participants.

Researchers asked the participants to answer a food questionnaire about their usual intake of over 120 food items two years prior to their cancer diagnosis or enrollment into the study (controls). They also asked about use of a variety of supplements. Vitamin K intake was estimated from this data.

While there was a clear trend showing that a greater intake of vitamin K from dietary sources was associated with a lower risk of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, the use of vitamin K supplements presented a slightly different picture. Increasing intake of vitamin K from supplements did protect against Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, but reached a point where the highest intake offered no reduction in risk.

"The significance of this finding is unclear," notes Dr. Cerhan, "but suggests that taking high doses of supplements is unlikely to be helpful." Dr. Cerhan also notes that people taking certain oral anticoagulants or seizure medications should closely follow their physician's dietary recommendations with respect to vitamin K intake, since vitamin K can interfere with these drugs.

"Whether the protective effect we observed is due to vitamin K intake, or some other dietary or lifestyle exposure, cannot be definitely assessed in this study," notes Dr. Cerhan.

"But these findings add to a lot of other data that support a diet that includes plenty of green leafy vegetables in order to prevent many cancers as well as other diseases."

The study was funded by the National Cancer Institute.

About Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic is the first and largest integrated, not-for-profit group practice in the world. Doctors from every medical specialty work together to care for patients, joined by common systems and a philosophy of "the needs of the patient come first." More than 3,700 physicians, scientists and researchers, and 50,100 allied health staff work at Mayo Clinic, which has campuses in Rochester, Minn; ville, Fla; and sdale/Phoenix, Ariz.; and community-based providers in more than 70 locations in southern Minnesota., western Wisconsin and northeast Iowa. These locations treat more than half a million people each year. To obtain the latest news releases from Mayo Clinic, go to www.mayoclinic.org/news. For information about research and education, visit www.mayo.edu. MayoClinic.com (www.mayoclinic.com) is available as a resource for your health stories.

>> More about Non-Hodgkin lymphoma at Mayo Clinic

About Lymphoma (Also called: Non-Hodgkin lymphoma)

Lymphoma is a cancer of a part of the immune system called the lymphatic system. There are many types of lymphoma. One type is called Hodgkin disease. The rest are called non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Non-Hodgkin lymphomas begin when a type of white blood cell, called a T cell or B cell, becomes abnormal. The cell divides again and again, making more and more abnormal cells. These abnormal cells can spread to almost any other part of the body. Most of the time, doctors can't determine why a person gets non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma can cause many symptoms, such as

¡ñ Swollen, painless lymph nodes in the neck, armpits or groin ¡ñ Unexplained weight loss ¡ñ Fever ¡ñ Soaking night sweats ¡ñ Coughing, trouble breathing or chest pain ¡ñ Weakness and tiredness that don't go away ¡ñ Pain, swelling or a feeling of fullness in the abdomen

Your doctor will perform an exam and lab tests to determine if you have lymphoma.

>> More at National Cancer Institute

>> More links and information at MedlinePlus

About Vitamin K

Vitamin K helps your body by making proteins for healthy bones and tissues. It also makes proteins for blood clotting. If you don¡¯t have enough vitamin K, you may bleed too much.

Newborns have very little vitamin K. They usually get a shot of vitamin K soon after they are born.

If you take blood thinners, you need to be careful about how much vitamin K you get. You also need to be careful about taking vitamin E supplements. Vitamin E can interfere with how vitamin K works in your body. Ask your health care provider for recommendations about these vitamins.

Most people get their vitamin K from plants such as green vegetables, and dark berries. Bacteria in your intestines also produce small amounts of vitamin K.

>> More at MedlinePlus

>> Vitamin K: Another Reason to Eat Your Greens (USDA.gov)

http://www.seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Health/2010/20100420-VitaminK.htm