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Cancer
Folic Acid Can Help Prevent Cancerous Colon Polyps
Date: 01/10/02
Keywords: Nutrition
According to a new Irish study, folic acid supplements can actively protect you from colon cancer. The good news is that the protective effect is most noticeable in people at highest risk of colon cancer - those who have been diagnosed with colon polyps (benign tumours that can become malignant over time)...HSI has brought you reports in the past on the numerous healthful benefits of folic acid... and now there appears to be another to add to the growing list. According to a new Irish study, folic acid supplements can actively protect you from colon cancer.
The good news is that the protective effect is most noticeable in people at highest risk of colon cancer - those who have been diagnosed with colon polyps (benign tumours that can become malignant over time).
A paper published in a recent issue of the journal, Gut, reported that folic acid acts to stop the proliferation of cells in the mucosa (lining) of the colon. If uncontrolled proliferation continues, it can lead to the development of adenomatous polyps that have the potential to become colon cancer.
In the Irish study, 20 patients with recurrent adenomatous polyps received two milligrams of folic acid per day or a placebo for 12 weeks. Rectal biopsy samples were taken from the participants before supplementation, and at four, twelve and eighteen weeks in order to examine cell proliferation. Blood samples were also taken.
The patients completed three-day dietary questionnaires at the study's onset and following supplementation, and the researchers calculated the amount and type of food consumed.
The researchers found that although mucosal cell proliferation between the groups was similar at the beginning of the study, the group receiving folic acid experienced a reduction in proliferation by the study's conclusion.
The most significant reduction took place at the upper aspect of the 'crypt'. Crypts are the indentations in the walls of the colon in which cells grow and replicate, with oldest cells existing at the top. Animal studies have shown that changes in mucosal crypt cells are related to colon cancer risk.
The researchers speculate that increasing folic acid may work by protecting DNA in individual mucosal cells from breakage and mutation. A deficiency of folate may also impair DNA repair in the mucosa of the colon and lead to chromosomal abnormalities at vulnerable sites.
You may want to take a combined folic acid and multi-vitamin pill on a daily basis. Alternately, you should boost your diet with folic acid rich foods, such as leafy green vegetables (especially spinach), liver, yeast extract, whole grains and freshly squeezed orange juice.
Back to topThe good news is that the protective effect is most noticeable in people at highest risk of colon cancer - those who have been diagnosed with colon polyps (benign tumours that can become malignant over time).
A paper published in a recent issue of the journal, Gut, reported that folic acid acts to stop the proliferation of cells in the mucosa (lining) of the colon. If uncontrolled proliferation continues, it can lead to the development of adenomatous polyps that have the potential to become colon cancer.
In the Irish study, 20 patients with recurrent adenomatous polyps received two milligrams of folic acid per day or a placebo for 12 weeks. Rectal biopsy samples were taken from the participants before supplementation, and at four, twelve and eighteen weeks in order to examine cell proliferation. Blood samples were also taken.
The patients completed three-day dietary questionnaires at the study's onset and following supplementation, and the researchers calculated the amount and type of food consumed.
The researchers found that although mucosal cell proliferation between the groups was similar at the beginning of the study, the group receiving folic acid experienced a reduction in proliferation by the study's conclusion.
The most significant reduction took place at the upper aspect of the 'crypt'. Crypts are the indentations in the walls of the colon in which cells grow and replicate, with oldest cells existing at the top. Animal studies have shown that changes in mucosal crypt cells are related to colon cancer risk.
The researchers speculate that increasing folic acid may work by protecting DNA in individual mucosal cells from breakage and mutation. A deficiency of folate may also impair DNA repair in the mucosa of the colon and lead to chromosomal abnormalities at vulnerable sites.
You may want to take a combined folic acid and multi-vitamin pill on a daily basis. Alternately, you should boost your diet with folic acid rich foods, such as leafy green vegetables (especially spinach), liver, yeast extract, whole grains and freshly squeezed orange juice.
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