New Finding: Calcium Tablets Have Long Term Benefit in Colon Polyp Prevention

Colo rectal (colon or the large intestine) cancer is the third most common cancer in the U.S.A. It occurs due to a variety of factors both environmental and genetic. It generally develops in a pre-existing polyp (finger like outgrowths) in the large intestines. These polyps are discovered on routine colonoscopy examination. Many of us have polyps inside our intestines varying in number from a couple to a few hundred in some individuals, and the chances of a cancer are more with a greater number of polyps. As such any preventive drug or habit which helps decrease the number of polyps should result in a decrease in cancer. Thus many drugs have been tried to see if they reduce polyps and Calcium (the one we take daily in doses of 500-1000 mg ) has shown good results.

What are the new findings?

Calcium Polyp Prevention Study (CPPS) reported in 1999 showed that dietarycalcium supplementation lowered risk for correctly adenomasand polyps. The results were published in a leading medical journal (the New England journal of Medicine) . In this study, patientswith histories of large intestine polyps (adenomas as they are called technically) were divide into two equal groups and one group received calcium supplementation (1200 mg of elemental calcium daily)or and the other group received a neutral tablet (called placebo as it did not have any active medicinal ingredient) and colonoscopy (examination of colon using a doctors special instrument) was performed at 1 year and 4years. The group on Calcium supplementation showed a 17% relative reductionin chances of developing future adenomas (polyps) and an even largerreduction in chances of getting dangerous polyps(polyps which have high chances to convert into cancer).Although the study showed good results one question remains unanswered.

What are the long term effects of calcium, does it still work if taken life long?

This is what has been shown in the recent publication (January 2007) of a leading cancer journal, the Journal of National Cancer Institute. The same researchers who published the original study (1999) have published further (follow up) data in the recent publication. The present report of a long term follow up in 822 patients shows that calcium does reduce chance till first 5 years of intake, but the effect diminishes after a 10 year intake of Calcium.

Conclusion: People who have been found to have adenomas (polyps in the large intestine) should have their Doctors prescribed Calcium for them. Normally many people, especially ladies, take Calcium because of its known effect on the strength of bone and prevention of Osteoporosis (fragile bones). The effect of Calcium is expected to continue for at least 5 years in the form of a reduced future occurrence of new polyps (adenomas).