Current perspectives on the chemoprevention of colorectal cancer

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Early diagnosis and preventive measures represent the best hopes for significantly decreasing the high mortality rates from colorectal cancer in Western society. Researchers are studying the effects of dietary interventions, such as supplementation with fibre, calcium and antioxidant vitamins, on the incidence of polyp recurrence in patients with resected colonic adenomas. In addition, the protective effect of aspirin and NSAIDs on polyp and tumour formation is also under investigation. Dr David S Alberts from the Arizona Cancer Centre, Tucson, US, provides an overview of recent and current trials investigating these approaches from his presentation, entitled ‘Chemoprevention of Colon Cancer’ , at the 31st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology [ Los Angeles, US; May 1995 ].