The role of folate in the development of colorectal cancer

Abstract

Colorectal cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Europe and the USA each year. Most large bowel cancers arise within pre-existing adenomatous polyps or adenomas. Several case-control and prospective studies have investigated the relationship between dietary folate intake and the risk of colorectal adenoma development, which is a well-established precursor of colorectal cancer. This project focused on establishing a method that would allow two techniques, colonic tissue folate calculation and the Comet assay, to be combined in a complementary fashion to investigate the relationship between purported DNA biomarkers, systemic and localised folate status and their role in the development of colorectal cancer.