UT Study Links B12 Above 1,000 pg/L to Worse Colon Cancer Survival

3 articles · Updated · ScienceAlert · Aug 20

37,106 colon cancer patients in a University of Texas Medical Branch analysis showed elevated B12 above 1,000 picograms per liter tracked with median survival of about five years, versus nearly 11 years for normal levels.
High-B12 patients were roughly twice as likely to die as low-B12 patients and about 65% more likely to die than those with normal levels, even after adjusting for age, treatment and other illnesses.
Tumors from those patients also more often presented at stage 4 and developed liver metastases within a year, while gene testing found higher MTR activity in the worst-outcome tumors.
That pattern suggests aggressive cancers may hoard and use B12 to support DNA building, making high blood B12 more a marker of disease severity than a cause of cancer.
Broader evidence remains mixed: 2024 studies in immunotherapy and oral cancer found similar links, while a Vietnam study suggested both low and high dietary B12 intake were associated with higher cancer risk.