Fermented dairy products, calcium, and colon cancer

Nutrition Research Newsletter, Nov-Dec, 1994

Several epidemiological studies have associated high intakes of calcium or dairy products with reduced risk of colon cancer, while other studies have found no such association. It has been suggested that fermented dairy products might be especially likely to reduce colon cancer risk, because the lactic acid bacteria in These foods may produce desirable changes in the environment within the gastrointestinal tract. This study, conducted in The Netherlands, examined the effect of intakes of fermented and non-fermented dairy products on the risk of colon cancer. The population studied here was well-suited for such an investigation because intakes of fermented dairy products in The Netherlands are generally high, with substantial variability in individual consumption patterns.

The researchers interviewed 232 colon cancer patients and 259 controls from the same population, using a structured dietary history questionnaire. After adjustment for potential confounding variables, intakes of fermented dairy products, hard cheese, unfermented dairy products, and total dietary calcium were not significantly associated with colon cancer risk.

This study "does not provide support for a protective role of commercially available fermented dairy products or dietary calcium against colon cancer risk." The results do not agree with those of two previous US studies in which significant inverse associations were found between consumption of fermented dairy products and risk of colon cancer.

Ellen Kampman, Pieter van't Veer, Gert Jan Hiddink et al, Fermented Dairy Products, Dietary Calcium and Colon Cancer: A Case-Control Study in The Netherlands, International J Cancer 59(2):170-176 (15 Oct 1994) [Reprints and correspondence: Ellen Kampman, Department of Epidemiology, TNO Nutrition and Food Research Institute, PO Box 360, 3700 AJ Zeist, The Netherlands. Fax: 31 3404 57952!

Additional Reading

Simone A Glynn and Demetrius Albanes, Folate and Cancer: A Review of the Literature, Nutrition & Cancer 22(2): 101-119 (1994) [Reprints: Dr Simone Glynn, National Cancer Institute, Cancer Prevention Studies Branch, Executive Plaza North, Suite 211, 6130 Executive Boulevard, Rockville MD 20852!