Colon Cancer linked to diet low in folic acid

Toronto Star - A diet low in folic acid appears to increase the risk of colorectal cancer in laboratory mice — and a similar deficiency could play a role in the human form of the disease, a study by Canadian researchers suggests.

In a one-year study of 137 mice, scientists at McGill University found that animals fed a diet deficient in folic acid — a B vitamin also known as folate — were more likely to develop colorectal cancer than rodents given a fully balanced diet that contained adequate folate.

"We found tumors in the mice that were on the low-folate diet and no tumors in mice that were on the regular diet," said geneticist Rima Rozen, scientific director of the Montreal Children's Hospital and the study's lead investigator.

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