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Vitamin K Deficiency and Hepatocellular Carcinoma
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To the Editor: The study by Dr Habu and colleagues1 suggests that vitamin K2 (menaquinone) supplementation prevents hepatocellular carcinoma in women with viral cirrhosis of the liver. Supplementation would be expected to be more beneficial in patients who have a vitamin K deficiency at the onset of the study, but the vitamin K status of the patients was not reported.
There are 2 plausible mechanisms that could lead to a vitamin K deficiency in patients with cirrhosis. First, because vitamin K is mainly produced by the gut microflora, a deficiency is known to occur in patients receiving broad-spectrum antibiotics.2 Antibiotic prophylaxis is routinely used to prevent bacterial infections in patients with decompensated cirrhosis of the liver. Second, because vitamin K stores are located in the liver, advanced cirrhosis could account for a vitamin K deficiency.
The importance of a low serum albumin level as a prognostic factor for hepatocellular carcinoma . . . [Full Text of this Article]
Marie-Astrid Piquet, MD
piquet-ma@chu-caen.fr
Isabelle Hourmand-Ollivier, MD;
Thông Dao, MD
Department of Hepatology and Nutrition
University Hospital
Caen, France
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