Folate cuts women's colon cancer risk

Eating plenty of folate reduces the risk of colorectal cancer for women.

There is evidence that intake of folate (a water-soluble vitamin from the B complex group that occurs naturally in food; folic acid is the synthetic form of folate found in supplements), which is found in green, leafy vegetables and citrus fruits, may reduce colorectal cancer risk, although some research suggests this protective effect could vary by ethnic background.

To look at the relationship in a Korean population, the researchers compared the diets of 596 colorectal cancer patients and 509 healthy individuals, matched by age and gender. The cancer patients drank and smoked more, were less active, and were also more likely to have a family history of the disease.

It was found that those who consumed more than 270 micrograms folate a day were more than half as likely to have cancer compared to people who ate 180 micrograms or less daily. When researchers looked at men and women separately, they found no influence of folate intake on mens' colorectal cancer risk. But women with high folate consumption (over 300 micrograms a day) were 64 percent less likely to develop colorectal cancer compared to women with the lowest consumption (200 micrograms daily or less).

These findings support the role of diet modification in reducing cancer risk based on the fact that the body needs folate in order to form nucleotides (the building blocks of DNA and RNA), to copy DNA and for other essential genetic functions. Therefore, low folate intake could contribute to colorectal cancer by making genetic mutations more likely.