Vitamin K supplementation stops prostate cancer in mice
Prostate cancer is a silent killer. It is treatable in most men, but in some cases it does not respond to all known treatments and becomes extremely fatal.
Professor Lloyd Trotman’s team found that the pro-oxidant supplement menadione slowed the progression of prostate cancer in mice. This supplement is a precursor to vitamin K, which is commonly found in green leafy vegetables. Menadione is a synthetic compound that acts as a form of vitamin K (specifically vitamin K3).
The story began more than two decades ago.
In 2001, the National Cancer Institute’s SELECT trial attempted to determine whether the antioxidant vitamin E supplement could treat or prevent prostate cancer.
The study, carried out on 35,000 men, was expected to last up to 12 years but was stopped after three years. Cause? The results showed that not only did vitamin E fail to slow or prevent prostate cancer, but taking the vitamin supplement was associated with an increase in the number of men who developed the disease.
Seeing these results, Trotman thought: “YesIf the antioxidant didn’t work, a pro-oxidant might work.”
Their new results, published in the journal Science, confirm this.
The researchers explain that when mice with prostate cancer are given menadione, it interferes with cancer survival processes.
Trotman’s team found that menadione destroys cancer cells by depleting a lipid called PI(3)P, which acts as an identification tag.
Without it, cells stop processing incoming materials and eventually explode.
It is, Trotman compares, “as if at a large airport like JFK in New York, only planes were landing, but none were taking off. Well, in this case, the tumor cell receives various elements, but does not release them and thus swells until it explodes and dies.
When the cancer cells die, the mice experience a significant slowdown in cancer progression.
Target population
Now, says Trotman, we need to apply these experiments to pilot studies in patients with prostate cancer: “Our target population will be men who are undergoing biopsies and have early disease. We are wondering if by starting a supplement we can slow down the progression of the disease.“
Surprisingly, Trotman’s research suggests that menadione may also be effective against myotubular myopathy, a rare disease that prevents muscle growth in boys.
Those diagnosed rarely survive into childhood. Trotman’s lab found that depleting PI(3)P with menadione could double the lifespan of mice with the disease.
If the results are confirmed in humans, it would mean that men with prostate cancer could receive better quality of life and more time with their families. It can also mean more precious time for children born with a terminal illness.