Vitamin K May Protect Against Developing Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

April 28, 2010

BlankVitamin K May Protect Against Developing Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

20 Apr 2010

In the first study of vitamin K and Non-Hodgkin lymphoma risk, researchers at

the Mayo Clinic campus in Minnesota have found that people who have higher

intakes of vitamin K from their diet have a lower risk of developing Non-Hodgkin

lymphoma. Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma is a cancer of the immune system and is the most

common hematologic malignancy in the United States.

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.

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.

" 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. "

Full story

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