COLON CANCER

CALCIUM

1. A daily dose of calcium (2000 mg for 30 days) changed cell proliferation in patients with sporadic adenoma whereas 1500 mg of calcium had no effect. In another study, 2000 mg/day calcium for 4 weeks suppressed the proliferation of cells in the rectal epithelium whereas placebo had no effect.

Gastroenterology. 1992 Jul;103(1):927.
Calcium supplementation decreases rectal epithelial cell proliferation in subjects with sporadic adenoma.
Wargovich MJ, Isbell G, Shabot M, Winn R, Lanza F, Hochman L, Larson E, Lynch P, Roubein L, Levin B.

2. Calcium supplementation (1000 mg/day for 2 months) may protect patients from colon cancer following a hemicolectomy.

Eur J Clin Invest. 2002 Sep;32(9):6939.
Calcium affects biomarkers of colon carcinogenesis after right hemicolectomy.
van Gorkom BA, van der Meer R, Karrenbeld A, van der Sluis T, Zwart N, Termont DS, Boersmavan Ek W, de Vries EG, Kleibeuker JH.

3. Men and women taking calcium supplements of 1250 mg/day or more had less risk of developing distal colon cancer than those taking 500 mg/day or less.

J Natl Cancer Inst. 2002 Mar 20;94(6):43746.
Calcium intake and risk of colon cancer in women and men.
Wu K, Willett WC, Fuchs CS, Colditz GA, Giovannucci EL.

COPPER

4. Low dietary copper (0.59 mg/day) increased fecal free radical output and fecal water alkaline phosphatase activity in healthy men. These measures are risk factors for colon cancer. Copper supplementation (2 mg/day for 6 weeks) did not result in increased fecal free radical production.

J Nutr. 2003 Feb;133(2):522-7. 
Low dietary copper increases fecal free radical production, fecal water alkaline phosphatase activity and cytotoxicity in healthy men.
Davis CD.
PMID: 12566494

FOLIC ACID
(1 microgram = 0.001 milligrams)

5. Women who consumed less than 200 micrograms of folic acid/day and had a family history of colon cancer had a greater risk of developing colon cancer than women who consumed 400 micrograms of folic acid/day. Higher intake of folate and methionine, and lower intake of alcohol reduced the risk of colon cancer in women with a family history of the disease.

Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2002 Mar;11(3):227-34. 
The influence of folate and multivitamin use on the familial risk of colon cancer in women.
Fuchs CS, Willett WC, Colditz GA, Hunter DJ, Stampfer MJ, Speizer FE, Giovannucci EL.
PMID: 11895870

6. Compared to placebo, supplementation with folate (5 mg/day) improved colorectal cancer biomarkers after 6 months in patients with polypectomies.

Am J Gastroenterol. 2001 Jan;96(1):184-95. 
Effects of folate supplementation on two provisional molecular markers of colon cancer: a prospective, randomized trial.
Kim YI, Baik HW, Fawaz K, Knox T, Lee YM, Norton R, Libby E, Mason JB.
PMID: 11197251

7. Men who consumed folate (at least 249 micrograms/day) had lower risk of developing colon cancer than those who did not. Those with low intake of folate and methionine and high intake of alcohol had greater risk of developing colon cancer.

Ann Epidemiol. 2001 Jan;11(1):65-72. 
Nutritional status of folate and colon cancer risk: evidence from NHANES I epidemiologic follow-up study.
Su LJ, Arab L.
PMID: 11164122

Animal Study

8. A daily dose of folate in the diet (20 mg per kilogram diet) reduced the number of intestinal polyps in mice by 68 – 78% compared to the folate deficient diet.

Cancer Res. 2000 Oct 1;60(19):5434-40. 
Effects of dietary folate on intestinal tumorigenesis in the apcMin mouse.
Song J, Medline A, Mason JB, Gallinger S, Kim YI.
PMID: 11034085

9. Daily intake of folate (400 micrograms or more) was associated with lower risk of colon cancer in women compared to intake of 200 micrograms or less folate. Risk of colon cancer decreased with the number of years of supplementation of multivitamins containing folate with risk being significantly lowered after 14 years.

Ann Intern Med. 1998 Oct 1;129(7):517-24. 
Comment in:
    ACP J Club. 1999 Mar-Apr;130(2):51.
    Ann Intern Med. 2003 Mar 4;138(5):430-1.
Multivitamin use, folate, and colon cancer in women in the Nurses' Health Study.
Giovannucci E, Stampfer MJ, Colditz GA, Hunter DJ, Fuchs C, Rosner BA, Speizer FE, Willett WC.
PMID: 9758570

GREEN TEA
(1 microgram = 0.001 milligrams)
Cell Study

10. Green tea and black tea polyphenols (30 micrograms per milliliter concentration) can alter the arachidonic acid metabolism in colon mucosa and tumors in humans thus potentially reducing risk of colon cancer.

Biochem Pharmacol. 2001 Nov 1;62(9):1175-83. 
Effects of purified green and black tea polyphenols on cyclooxygenase- and lipoxygenase-dependent metabolism of arachidonic acid in human colon mucosa and colon tumor tissues.
Hong J, Smith TJ, Ho CT, August DA, Yang CS.

Cell/Animal Study

11. A brew of green tea (5% green tea brewed for 2-3 minutes) was effective in slowing down Salmonella mutagens, which have produced colon cancer in animals.

Proc Soc Exp Biol Med 1999 Apr;220(4):239-43
Cancer chemopreventive mechanisms of tea against heterocyclic amine mutagens from cooked meat.
Dashwood RH, Xu M, Hernaez JF, Hasaniya N, Youn K, Razzuk A

12. Ingestion of tea catechins (100 mg = 1 cup green tea 3 times/day for 3 weeks) decreases bacterial decay and lowers PH, which increases organic acids in the small intestine, potentially reducing risk of colon and rectum cancer.

J Cell Biochem Suppl 1997;27:52-8
Influence of tea catechins on the digestive tract.
Hara Y

MILK THISTLE/SILYMARIN
(ppm = parts per million)

Animal Study

13. Dietary doses of silymarin (500 ppm in the diet) fed to male rats before and during administration of colon cancer cells. This dose effectively prevented the development of colon cancer tumors in the rats and should be considered as a chemopreventative in human colon cancer.

Int J Cancer. 2002 Oct 10;101(5):461-8. 
Silymarin, a naturally occurring polyphenolic antioxidant flavonoid, inhibits azoxymethane-induced colon carcinogenesis in male F344 rats.
Kohno H, Tanaka T, Kawabata K, Hirose Y, Sugie S, Tsuda H, Mori H.

N-acetyl L-cysteine (NAC)

14. Compared to placebo, daily doses of N-acetylcysteine (800 mg) for 12 weeks effectively reduced the “proliferative index” in patients with previous benign colon polyps, which are an indicator for risk of colon cancer.

Cancer Lett. 1999 Dec 1;147(1-2):109-14. 
N-acetylcysteine suppression of the proliferative index in the colon of patients with previous adenomatous colonic polyps.
Estensen RD, Levy M, Klopp SJ, Galbraith AR, Mandel JS, Blomquist JA, Wattenberg LW.

SELENIUM
(1 microgram = 0.001 milligrams)
Animal Study

15. High selenium broccoli (containing 3.0 micrograms selenium per gram of diet) was more effective in reducing mammary tumors in rats than selenite (1.0 microgram per gram of diet) with or without low selenium broccoli. In another experiment, rats fed broccoli florets and sprouts (containing 2.0 micrograms selenium per gram of diet) had fewer colon crypts than rats fed selenite (1.0 microgram selenite per gram of diet). Thus, high selenium broccoli protects against colon and mammary cancer.

J Agric Food Chem. 2001 May;49(5):2679-83. 
Cancer-protective properties of high-selenium broccoli.
Finley JW, Ip C, Lisk DJ, Davis CD, Hintze KJ, Whanger PD.
PMID: 11368655

Animal Study

16. High selenium broccoli (2.0 micrograms per gram diet) was fed to rats for 2 weeks before injecting them with a carcinogen. The high selenium broccoli protected the rats from developing aberrant crypts and lesions that indicate colon cancer.

J Nutr. 2000 Sep;130(9):2384-9. 
Selenium from high selenium broccoli protects rats from colon cancer.
Finley JW, Davis CD, Feng Y.
PMID: 10958840

SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE
Animal Study

17. An injected dose of superoxide dismutase (30,000 IU per kilogram body weight) prior to induced colitis in rats significantly decreased the macroscopic damage score and reduced chronic inflammation. This treatment may improve symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease in humans.

Res Exp Med (Berl). 1999 Oct;199(2):101-10. 
The effect of antioxidant therapy on colonic inflammation in the rat.
Yavuz Y, Yuksel M, Yegen BC, Alican I.
PMID: 10550643

VITAMIN D

Animal study

18. Daily doses of vitamin D (0.1 – 0.5 micrograms per kilogram body weight) inhibited tumor growth of human colon cancer cells implanted in mice. Doses of 2.5 micrograms per kilogram body weight resulted in weight loss and hypercalcaemia. 

Dis Colon Rectum. 1997 Mar;40(3):317-21.

Vitamin D3 analog, EB1089, inhibits growth of subcutaneous xenografts of the human colon cancer cell line, LoVo, in a nude mouse model.

Akhter J, Chen X, Bowrey P, Bolton EJ, Morris DL.

VITAMIN E/TOCOTRIENOL

19. Supplementation with vitamin E (300 IU or more/day) may reduce the risk of colon cancer in men compared to those never having used vitamin E.

Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev.  2002 Nov;11(11):1298-304. 
A prospective study on supplemental vitamin E intake and risk of colon cancer in women and men.
Wu K, Willett WC, Chan JM, Fuchs CS, Colditz GA, Rimm EB, Giovannucci EL.
PMID: 12433706