We normally assume that if we get the right amounts, our body will function perfectly and glow with health. However, reality is much more nuanced and complex, especially when we talk about oncological diseases. Traditionally, it has been considered that taking supplements is always positive for our body, but experts have discovered that the real solution to combat various types of cancer could lie in understanding and monitoring the behavior of a specific vitamin: vitamin B12.
This substance has been known for many years as one of the “heroes” of nutrition, being vital to keeping the body functioning properly, helping to produce DNA and protecting our nerves. Since plants do not produce it, this vitamin is found naturally only in products derived from animals, so its deficiency is common in plant-based diets. Cancer begins with DNA damageand severe B12 deficiency is thought to indirectly interfere with the processes that cells use to copy and repair this genetic material.
However, recent studies consulted by ScienceAlert have muddied the waters, revealing that both abnormally low and abnormally high levels of B12 are present in cancer cases around the world. The study ‘Association between Vitamin B12 Levels and Colon Cancer Survival: A Global Network Study’ has discovered that B12 acts as a powerful prediction and clinical tracking tool.
During the research, 37,106 patients with colon cancer were evaluated and they were able to verify that those with high levels of this nutrient in the blood (more than 1,000 pg/mL) showed a rate of significantly lower overall survival (59.4 months) compared to those who had normal (129.8 months) or low (137.3 months) levels. Furthermore, patients with elevated B12 had a higher metastatic burden at diagnosis and a higher incidence of metastases to the liver and lungs during the first year.
The authors of the study are clear about this: “These findings identify the potential clinical relevance of B12 as a biomarker for colon cancer metastasis and survival.” That is, vitamin B12 is converted into a strategic solution in modern oncology, not as a direct cure, but as a crucial biomarker that allows doctors to identify aggressive diseases in time and track their spread.
In this scenario, the study has also discovered that the MTR gene (B12-dependent methionine synthase) is highly elevated in colon cancer tissues, suggesting that tumor cells have a high metabolic demand for this vitamin to proliferate. So is it vitamin B12 that causes cancer when its levels rise? The short answer is no; In reality, it is a reverse causality. In fact, another study from 2022 (‘High Plasma Vitamin B12 and Cancer in Human Studies’) has already exhaustively analyzed this causality.
In the research, the authors explain that the liver stores large amounts of B12, and when liver cells are damaged by tumors or other diseases, vitamin B12 is suddenly released into the bloodstream. Therefore, high plasma B12 levels are a result of secondary cell and tissue damage to cancer, and not its origin.
This latest review also highlighted that tumor tissues and certain immune cells such as neutrophils responsible for attacking the tumor overexpress a vitamin B12-binding protein called TCN1 (haptocorrin). This protein apparently captures B12 and traps it in the circulation, raising levels in blood tests. Although, the authors concluded that “there is insufficient evidence to assume that high plasma vitamin B12, high B12 intake, or treatment with pharmacological doses of vitamin B12 are causally related to cancer.”
On the other hand, diagnosing and treating vitamin B12 deficiency in cancer patients remains imperative to avoid serious neurological and hematological sequelae. The experts in the magazine ScienceAlert determine that the key to prevention appears to be emulate the story of “Goldilocks” (Goldilocks): Land on the amount of intake that is “just right” and maintain balance.
