Two researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City have found preliminary evidence that early stages of colorectal cancer can be reversed. In "Effect of Added Dietary Calcium on Colonic Epithelial-Cell Proliferation in Subjects at High Risk for Familial Colonic Cancer," The New England Journal of Medicine, November 28, 1985, the researchers were able to reverse proliferating abnormal cells to normal within two to three months in ten people by supplementing their diets with 1.25 grams of calcium per day.

Furthermore, researchers at the University of California at San Diego examined 2,000 men, showing that those who ate calcium-rich and vitamin D foods had only one-third the rate of colon cancer compared to those who rarely ate these foods. Details on that study were reported in "Dietary Vitamin D and Calcium and Risk of Colorectal Cancer: A 19-Year Prospective Study in Men," The Lancet, February 9, 1985.

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. . . researchers at the University of California at San Diego examined 2,000 men, showing that those who ate calcium-rich and vitamin D foods had only one-third the rate of colon cancer compared to those who rarely ate these foods.

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Researchers of both studies have cautioned that more work and more verifications need to be completed before people begin taking calcium supplements. Unexpected drawbacks to supplementation are a possibility.