Multivitamin, calcium and folic acid supplements and the risk of colorectal cancer in Lynch syndrome

Abstract

Background: People with a DNA mismatch repair (MMR) gene mutation have a substantially elevated risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) but the modifiers of this risk are not well established. We investigated the association between dietary supplement intake and CRC risk for carriers. Methods: This study included 1966 (56% female) carriers of an MMR gene mutation (719 MLH1, 931 MSH2, 211 MSH6 and 105 PMS2) who were recruited from the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand into the Colon Cancer Family Registry between 1997 and 2012. Information on lifestyle factors including supplement intake was collected at the time of recruitment. Using Cox proportional hazards regression weighted to correct for ascertainment bias, we estimated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for associations between self-reported multivitamin, calcium and folic acid supplement intake and CRC risk. Results: Of 744 carriers with CRC, 18%, 6% and 5% reported intake of multivitamin, calcium and folic acid supplements for at least 1 month, respectively, compared with 27%, 11% and 10% of 1222 carriers without CRC. After adjusting for identified confounding variables, a decreased CRC risk was associated with multivitam inintake for at least 3 years (HR 0.47, 95% CI 0.32-0.69) and calcium intake for at least 3 years(HR 0.42, 95% CI 0.23-0.74), compared with never users. There was no evidence of an association between folic acid supplement intake and CRC risk (P = 0.82). Conclusion: Intake of multivitamin and calcium supplements might be associated with a decreased risk of CRC for MMR gene mutation carriers.