Folate may reduce colorectal cancer risk

ATLANTA, July 6 (UPI) -- A study that occurred after the mandatory fortification of the U.S. diet with folate found a reduced risk of colorectal cancer, researchers say.

Study leader Victoria Stevens, strategic director of laboratory services at the American Cancer Society, investigated the association between folate intake and colorectal cancer among 99,523 participants in the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort.

A total of 1,023 participants were diagnosed with colorectal cancer from 1999 to 2007, a after folate fortification began.

The study, published in Gastroenterology, found neither higher nor lower risk was observed during the first two years of follow-up -- 1999 to 2001 -- but high folate intake was associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer during 2002 to 2007.

The study is reassuring, as previous recent evidence has suggested consumption of very high levels of folate through supplements and from folate-fortified diet may increase risk of some cancers, Stevens says.

"Nonetheless, the potential importance of folate in colorectal cancer prevention remains in question because at least one other study found folate supplementation had no effect on recurrence of colorectal adenomas, precursors to colorectal cancer so we need to continue to investigate the influence of folate on cancer development in high risk populations," Stevens adds.