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Taking Vitamin D and Calcium supplements does not prevent colon growths

Till now, many studies have shown link between vitamin D and calcium supplements and colon cancer prevention.

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Colon cancer is the number two cancer killer in the U.S. The risk for colorectal cancer increases as a person ages; over 90 percent of people with colon cancer are 50 years old or more.

The study results, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, did not support earlier observational studies suggesting a link between lower colorectal cancer risk with higher vitamin D blood levels or greater calcium intake.

Researchers said that they found these new cancerous growths in people which had them removed earlier even though they were consuming vitamin D or calcium supplements.

A large, randomized study at 11 USA hospitals including Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center found that vitamin D and calcium supplements fail to protect against developing colorectal cancer.

Daily supplementation with vitamin D3, calcium did not significantly reduce the risk of recurrent adenomas. The research challenges past studies that had found dietary supplements may help prevent precancerous growths’ recurrence.

“That was a big surprise”.

The lead author from this study, Dr. John Baron, said that it came as a major surprise. The National Cancer Institute sponsored it and Pfizer Consumer Healthcare provided the pills.

In the investigation, researchers went through data on 2259 patients who had learnt that they had certain precancerous growths known as polyps.

Currently, the Institute of Medicine recommends taking 4,000 IU every day as the safe limit for vitamin D in adults whereas Calcium has been recommended to take 2,000 mg every day. “But at least in this setting, at this dose, with this population and measuring these outcomes, vitamin D and calcium supplementation did not appear useful”. Compared to the placebo group, the groups that took vitamin D and calcium, or both, did not have a decreased risk for recurring polyps. One group served as control and was not given anything. It was noticed that volunteers who took doses of calcium did not show any improvement in the prevention of colorectal adenoma, and 45.3 percent of them developed polyps where as 47.5 percent did not, for those that were not given any supplements.

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Researchers are now looking more closely at data suggesting that differences in participants’ genetic makeup might influence response to treatment with vitamin D and calcium, and whether longer-term treatment with vitamin D might be needed for prevention.

Taking Vitamin D and Calcium supplements does not prevent colon growths