X-Message-Number: 28280
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2006 21:01:21 -0700 (PDT)
From: Doug Skrecky <>
Subject: new guy has questions

In Message #28276 DAVID KAIRYS <> wrote:

> I am celebrating my 23 rd month of survival after a diagnosis
> of gastro-esophageal adenocarcinoma, stage 3....[snip]
> What else do you folks recommend?

[Cryopreservation has been improving, so live as long as you can.
Menatetrenone might be worth checking out.]

Cancer. 2006 Feb 15;106(4):867-72.
The effect of menatetrenone, a vitamin K2 analog, on disease
recurrence and survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma
after curative treatment: a pilot study.
  BACKGROUND: The high recurrence rate of hepatocellular carcinoma
(HCC) determines the long-term prognosis for patients with HCC. In
the current study, the authors tested the effects of menatetrenone,
a vitamin K2 analog, on recurrent HCC and survival after curative
treatment. METHODS: Sixty-one patients who were diagnosed as free
of HCC after surgical resection or percutaneous local ablation
were assigned randomly assigned to either a menatetrenone group
(n = 32 patients) or a control group (n = 29 patients). Patients
in the menatetrenone group received a daily oral dose of 45 mg of
menatetrenone. Disease recurrence and survival rates were analyzed
in patients with HCC. RESULTS: The cumulative recurrence rates in
the menatetrenone group were 12.5% at 12 months, 39.0% at 24 months,
and 64.3% at 36 months; and the corresponding recurrence rates in
the control group were 55.2%, 83.2%, and 91.6%, respectively
(P = 0.0002). Similar results were obtained even for patients who
had low baseline levels of serum des-gamma-carboxy-prothrombin.
Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard analyses
showed that the administration of menatetrenone was the only
factor related to the recurrence rate of HCC. The cumulative
survival rates for the patients who received menatetrenone were
100% at 12 months, 96.6% at 24 months, and 87.0% at 36 months;
and the corresponding survival rates for patients in the control
group were 96.4%, 80.9%, and 64.0%, respectively (P = 0.051).
CONCLUSIONS: The current study findings suggested that
menatetrenone may have a suppressive effect on recurrence of HCC
and a beneficial effect on survival, although a larger,
placebo-controlled trial will be required to prove these effects.

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