Calcium supplements may reduce the recurrence of colorectal polyps

Positive Effects Of Calcium Supplements Seen In Less Than A Year

(NAPS)-More good news about a simple strategy - taking a calcium supplement. A study shows that calcium supplements may have benefits that go beyond bones. The clinical study, published in an issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, showed that men and women with a history of colorectal adenomas who took calcium supplements daily reduced their risk of recurrence of colorectal adenomas, or polyps. Polyps are small, tumor-like growths that can develop on the surfaces of the colon and rectum. They are known to be precursors of colorectal cancer. Eight hundred and thirty-two patients were included in the study, which was part of the Calcium Polyp Prevention Study, funded by the National Institutes of Health. Patients either received 1200 milligrams of elemental calcium (provided by Caltrate® brand calcium supplements) a day or placebos ("dummy pills"). Over the course of the four-year study, patients who took calcium supplements had a 19 percent decrease in the risk of recurrence of any adenoma and a 24 percent decrease in the overall number of adenomas. "Adenomas may develop into colorectal cancer. Less than a year into the study we saw positive results due to calcium - fewer adenomas and so less potential for cancer," said John A. Baron, MD, MS, MSc, Professor of Medicine and of Community and Family Medicine, Dartmouth Medical School, and principal investigator of the study. Colorectal cancer, or cancer of the colon and the rectum, is the third most common form of cancer in men and women, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). In 2000, colorectal cancer was responsible for approximately 3,000 deaths in women and 3,500 deaths in men-about 10 percent of all cancer deaths in Canada.