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. 1996 Jul;74(1):145–151. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1996.330

Calcium, phosphorus, vitamin D, dairy products and colorectal carcinogenesis: a French case--control study.

M C Boutron 1, J Faivre 1, P Marteau 1, C Couillault 1, P Senesse 1, V Quipourt 1
PMCID: PMC2074613  PMID: 8679449

Abstract

A protective effect of calcium against colorectal cancer has been described in Anglo-Saxon but not in Latin communities, and no such effect has been observed regarding adenomas. We investigated the relationship between calcium, dairy products and the adenoma-carcinoma sequence in a French region by comparing small adenoma ( < 10 mm, n = 154), large adenoma (n = 208) and polyp-free (n = 426) subjects, and cancer cases (n = 171) with population controls (n = 309). There was no protective effect of calcium against colorectal tumours except for low fat calcium and large adenomas in men (OR for highest quintile = 0.3, P for trend = 0.06). There was even a trend towards an increased risk of cancer with dairy calcium in men and non-dairy calcium in women. Vitamin D was inversely related to the risk of small adenomas in women (OR for highest quintile = 0.4, P for trend = 0.04). Regarding dairy products, only consumption of yoghurt displayed an inverse relationship with risk of large adenomas, in both men and women. These data failed to demonstrate a protective effect of calcium against colorectal carcinogenesis. They suggest that the type of dairy product might be the important factor with regard to prevention of colorectal tumours.

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Selected References

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