Menaquinone vitamin K2 by Ray Sahelian, M.D. Health benefit of menaquinone supplement

There are various forms of vitamin K
Phylloquinone is vitamin K1
Menaquinone is vitamin K2
Menadione is vitamin K3

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Menaquinone and prostate cancer
Dietary intake of vitamin K and risk of prostate cancer in the Heidelberg cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Heidelberg).
Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 April. Nimptsch K, Rohrmann S, Linseisen J. Division of Cancer Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Centre, Heidelberg, Germany.
Anticarcinogenic activities of vitamin K have been observed in various cancer cell lines, including prostate cancer cells. Epidemiologic studies linking dietary intake of vitamin K with the development of prostate cancer have not yet been conducted. We evaluated the association between dietary intake of phylloquinone (vitamin K1) and menaquinones (vitamin K2) and total and advanced prostate cancer in the Heidelberg cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. Our results suggest an inverse association between the intake of menaquinones, but not that of phylloquinone, and prostate cancer. Further studies of dietary vitamin K and prostate cancer are warranted.

Menaquinone and cancer
Effect of vitamin K2 on the recurrence in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.
Hepatogastroenterology. 2007 Oct-Nov. Hotta N, Ayada M, Sato K, Ishikawa T, Okumura A, Matsumoto E, Ohashi T, Kakumu S. Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Aichi Medical University School of Medicine, Aichi, Japan.
Menaquinone appears to have a potent inhibitory activity for cell growth including HCC cells. We investigated whether Menaquinone could reduce incidence of tumor recurrence after treatment of HCC. Forty-five patients with cured or possibly cured HCC were randomly selected, assigning patients to treatment (n=21) or control group (n=24) with randomization list. For the treatment group, forty-five mg of Glakay was given orally every day after therapy for HCC. No patients complained of adverse effects. Abdominal ultrasonography and dynamic CT were performed at 3-month intervals. Our findings suggest that menaquinone does not appear to prevent recurrence of HCC after curative treatment.

Dietary intake of vitamin K and risk of prostate cancer in the Heidelberg cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Heidelberg).Am J Clin Nutr. 2008. Division of Cancer Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Centre, Heidelberg, Germany.
We evaluated the association between dietary intake of phylloquinone (vitamin K1) and menaquinones (vitamin K2) and total and advanced prostate cancer in the Heidelberg cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition. DESIGN: At baseline, habitual dietary intake was assessed by means of a food-frequency questionnaire. Dietary intake of phylloquinone and menaquinones (MK-4-14) was estimated by using previously published HPLC-based food-content data. During a mean follow-up time of 8.6 y, 268 incident cases of prostate cancer, including 113 advanced cases, were identified. We observed a nonsignificant inverse association between total prostate cancer and total menaquinone intake. The association was stronger for advanced prostate cancer. Menaquinones from dairy products had a stronger inverse association with advanced prostate cancer than did menaquinones from meat. Phylloquinone intake was unrelated to prostate cancer incidence. Our results suggest an inverse association between the intake of menaquinones, but not that of phylloquinone, and prostate cancer. Further studies of dietary vitamin K and prostate cancer are warranted.