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Vitamin K3 supplements could slow down prostate cancer, study finds
A new study in mice has found a substance called menadione sodium bisulfite, also known as Vitamin K3, is an effective treatment for prostate cancer.
Prostate is the most common cancer in men and around 1 in 8 males will be diagnosed with the disease in their lifetime, the American Cancer Society reveals, so this marks a revolutionary discovery that could prolong thousands of lives.
Vitamin K3 could slow down prostate cancer
The study, conducted by the Cold Springs Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) in Cold Spring, New York, and published in the Science journal, gave menadione sodium bisulfite to mice and found it “suppressed prostate cancer growth”. This means it slowed the cancer and stopped it from growing.
Menadione sodium bisulfite is a water-soluble form of menadione, a synthetic substance that belongs to the Vitamin K group of compounds. It is a “precursor” of Vitamin K, meaning it is formed from the vitamin by a metabolic reaction.
There are 3 forms of Vitamin K: Vitamin K1 (phylloquinone), Vitamin K2 (menaquinone) and Vitamin K3 (menadione). Vitamin K3 is a synthetic form of vitamin K, produced artificially, while Vitamins K1 and K2 occur naturally.
The compound was found to kill prostate cancer cells through a new process the authors named triaptosis, which stops the cells from correctly processing incoming materials. This causes the cancer cells to become overwhelmed and die.
This was conducted following evidence that antioxidants can help treat cancer. Antioxidants are substances that help your body neutralize and fight off free radicals, unstable molecules that can damage cells.
300k new US prostate cancer cases in 2024
The study estimated that more than than 299,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in the United States alone in 2024.
It usually grows slowly at first and many will continue living a normal life for many years. The prostate cancer death rate declined by about half from 1993 to 2013, due to people detecting it earlier and advances in treatment.
However, in the later stages, prostate cancer becomes life-threatening and resists all available treatment options, so the discovery of Vitamin K3 as a potential new treatment to slow down the progression of the disease is a huge step.
Prostate cancer is still the second-leading cause of cancer death in American men, behind only lung cancer. About 1 in 44 men will die of prostate cancer in the United States, with similar figures across the world.
Like most cancers, it is usually treated with surgery, radiotherapy, hormone therapy, cryotherapy and then chemotherapy when it reaches a more advanced stage.
Some prostate cancers are linked to unavoidable factors such as age, genetics, race and family history. However, it can be caused by lifestyle habits such as obesity, diet, alcohol consumption, sexual activity, and exercise level, the NHS explains.
Eating a balanced diet and doing regular exercise may reduce your risk. Another study found eating less saturated fats can also lower your risk of prostate cancer.
