[Clinical application of vitamin K for hepatocellular carcinoma]

Despite recent progress in diagnosis and therapy, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains among the cancers with the poorest prognoses. Vitamin K (VK) have been shown to suppress the growth of HCC cells. Long-term administration of VK(2) has established its clinical safety, but it does not appear to exhibit marked anti-tumor effects when administered alone. For more effective use of VK against HCC, co-administration of VK(2) with other proven anticancer agents or development of a new VK preparation with a modified side-chain should be investigated in the future.