Calcium, dairy may curb colon cancer risk

Men with high levels of calcium and dairy foods in their diet have a lower risk of colorectal cancer, research suggests.

Recent studies have generally reported a “modest inverse association between calcium intake and the risk of colorectal cancer,” Dr. Susanna C. Larsson, of Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, and colleagues note in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. “However, findings pertaining to specific subsites in the colorectum have been conflicting.”

The researchers studied the association between calcium and dairy foods and colorectal cancer risk in 45,306 Swedish men. The men were between 45 and 79 years of age and free of cancer at baseline.

A total of 449 men developed colorectal cancer over an average of 6.7 years of follow-up. Of these, 276 tumors were located in the colon—124 were in the upper part of the colon, often referred to as the proximal colon, 131 were in the lower part of the colon near the rectum, called the distal colon, and 21 in an unspecified subsite. The other 173 cancers were located in the rectum.

The colorectal cancer risk for men in the highest quartile of total calcium intake was 32 percent lower than men in the lowest quartile. A high intake of dairy food was also associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer. Milk consumption had the strongest inverse association with colorectal cancer.

SOURCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition March 2006.

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