Vitamin Supplements May Reduce Colon Cancer Risk

November 3, 1997

Contact:
Mary Burnette
202-872-1488
[email protected]

VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTS MAY REDUCE COLON CANCER RISK

Long-term use of multi-vitamins may reduce the risk of colon cancer by 50 percent. Consumption of 200 international units (IU) of vitamin E per day may reduce the risk by 57 percent. A new study published in the October journal of Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention showed that there was a significant relationship between multivitamin use and supplemental use of vitamins A, C, E, folic acid, and calcium and lower colon cancer rates.

The study, conducted at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington, involved 444 men and women aged 30 to 62 who had been diagnosed with colon cancer and 427 controls. These individuals were asked about their use of supplements for the 10-year period prior to their diagnosis. People were asked questions about the type, frequency, duration and dose of the supplement they took. The researchers classified multivitamins as "one-a-day" type; "therapeutic/high potency"; or "stress" type. The study found that most people who took a multi-vitamin also took individual supplements.

Prior studies, as well as this most recent study, clearly support an effect of vitamin supplements on reduced colon cancer risk but are limited in their ability to identify the specific nutrient that may be responsible for the reduction. Likewise, intakes of fruits and vegetables that contain antioxidant vitamins and folic acid are associated with lower colon cancer rates, although these effects have not been specifically attributed to these vitamins and may be from some other component in these foods.

Unfortunately, education programs to increase fruit and vegetable consumption have met with limited success. The National Cancer Institute recommends eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day, but the U.S. Agricultural Research Service nationwide food consumption survey showed intakes of these foods has increased only slightly since the late 1970s.

The authors recommend clinical trials to verify their findings but they do say that " if supplements prove to reduce cancer risk, increasing intake of micronutrients by use of vitamin supplements rather than food may be an attractive public health strategy."

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