A POPULAR vitamin, vital for bone health, has been shown to significantly slow one of the world's most common cancers. Prostate cancer affects one in seven men worldwide - in the UK it's the most common cancer in men. Just this week, Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy revealed his prostate cancer is terminal , having been told he has just two to four years left to live.
He first announced in February he was being treated for the disease. He told the Sunday Times the cancer had spread from his prostate to his bones, including his shoulder, pelvis, ribs and spine. In most men, prostate cancer is treatable, but in some cases it resists all known therapies and and can prove deadly.
Read more on cancer Now, a new study has suggested menadione, also known as vitamin K3, could offer a ray of hope. Research carried out by Professor Lloyd Trotman at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York state found the pro-oxidant vitamin, also found in leafy greens, slowed prostate cancer progression in mice. Back in 2001, the National Cancer Institute's SELECT trial sought to determine if an antioxidant vitamin E supplement could successfully treat or prevent prostate cancer.
The trial involving 35,000 men was planned to last up to 12 years. Most read in Health But, after just three years, participants were told to stop taking their supplements. Not only had vitamin E failed to slow or prevent prostate cancer - more men taking the supplement started to get the disease.
Seeing these results, Prof Tro.
