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Serum folate, homocysteine and colorectal cancer risk in women: a nested case–control study
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  • Published: 12 March 1999

Serum folate, homocysteine and colorectal cancer risk in women: a nested case–control study

  • I Kato1,
  • A M Dnistrian2,
  • M Schwartz2,
  • P Toniolo1,
  • K Koenig1,
  • R E Shore1,
  • A Akhmedkhanov1,
  • A Zeleniuch-Jacquotte1 &
  • …
  • E Riboli3 

British Journal of Cancer volume 79, pages 1917–1921 (1999)Cite this article

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Summary

Accumulating evidence suggests that folate, which is plentiful in vegetables and fruits, may be protective against colorectal cancer. The authors have studied the relationship of baseline levels of serum folate and homocysteine to the subsequent risk of colorectal cancer in a nested case–control study including 105 cases and 523 matched controls from the New York University Women’s Health Study cohort. In univariate analyses, the cases had lower serum folate and higher serum homocysteine levels than controls. The difference was more significant for folate (P < 0.001) than for homocysteine (P = 0.04). After adjusting for potential confounders, the risk of colorectal cancer in the subjects in the highest quartile of serum folate was half that of those in the lowest quartile (odds ratio, OR = 0.52, 95% confidence interval, CI = 0.27–0.97, P-value for trend = 0.04). The OR for the highest quartile of homocysteine, relative to the lowest quartile, was 1.72 (95% CI = 0.83–3.65, P-value for trend = 0.09). In addition, the risk of colorectal cancer was almost twice as high in subjects with below-median serum folate and above-median total alcohol intake compared with those with above-median serum folate and below-median alcohol consumption (OR = 1.99, 95% CI = 0.92–4.29). The potentially protective effects of folate need to be confirmed in clinical trials.

Change history

  • 16 November 2011

    This paper was modified 12 months after initial publication to switch to Creative Commons licence terms, as noted at publication

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nelson Institute of Environmental Medicine and Kaplan Comprehensive Cancer Center, New York University School of Medicine, 341 East 25th Street, New York, 10010, NY, USA

    I Kato, P Toniolo, K Koenig, R E Shore, A Akhmedkhanov & A Zeleniuch-Jacquotte

  2. Department of Clinical Laboratories, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, 10021, NY, USA

    A M Dnistrian & M Schwartz

  3. Unit of Nutrition and Cancer, International Agency for Research on Cancer, 150 Cours Albert-Thomas, Lyon, 69372, France

    E Riboli

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From twelve months after its original publication, this work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

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Kato, I., Dnistrian, A., Schwartz, M. et al. Serum folate, homocysteine and colorectal cancer risk in women: a nested case–control study. Br J Cancer 79, 1917–1921 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bjc.6690305

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  • Received: 22 July 1998

  • Revised: 18 September 1998

  • Accepted: 08 October 1998

  • Published: 12 March 1999

  • Issue Date: 01 April 1999

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bjc.6690305

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Keywords

  • colorectal cancer
  • folate
  • homocysteine
  • cohort study women

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