Lee Swanson Research Update

Calcium Reduces Colon Cancer Risk Over the Long Term

February 2007

Calcium seems to protect high-risk people from developing the polyps that can lead to colorectal cancer-and the benefits appear to last long after calcium supplementation ends, according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

"Calcium supplementation has been shown to decrease the risk of recurrence of colorectal adenomas in randomized trials," researchers said. "However, the duration of this protective effect after cessation of active supplementation is not known." That's what scientists set out to discover.

Patients with a history of nonmalignant polyps took either 1,200 mg of calcium in supplement form or a placebo daily for four years in a study previously reported by researchers from Dartmouth Medical School. Calcium was associated with a 17% lower relative risk for polyp recurrence.

The risk reduction not only persisted in the years after treatment ended, but it seemed to strengthen, according to the recent follow-up study that included 822 of the 930 original study subjects.

During the first five years after the end of treatment, 31.5% of patients in the calcium group developed new polyps, compared with 43.2% of the study participants who did not take calcium. The protection did not appear to extend beyond five years, however.

Researchers concluded: "The protective effect of calcium supplementation on risk of colorectal adenoma recurrence extends up to five years after cessation of active treatment, even in the absence of continued supplementation."

Journal of the National Cancer Institute 99(2):129-136, 2007

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