Folate supps "double prostate cancer risk"

A study led by researchers at the USA's University of Southern California found that men who took a daily folic acid supplement of 1mg  had more than twice the risk of prostate cancer compared with those who  took a placebo.

The finding came from a secondary analysis of the Aspirin/Folate Polyp  Prevention Study and appear in the March 10 on-line issue of the Journal  of the National Cancer Institute. Folate is a B vitamin found in many  vegetables, beans, fruits and whole grains. While evidence of its  ability to reduce neural tube defects in infants while taken by the  mother before or during pregnancy has been well documented, its effects  on other conditions are unclear.

The AFPP study was conducted between 1994 and 2006 and found that  aspirin reduced the risk of colon polyps while folic acid had a negative  effect and increased the risk of advanced and multiple polyps. In this  new analysis, researchers looked at prostate cancer incidence among 643  men who were randomly assigned to 1mg daily folic acid supplements or  placebo in the AFPP study and who enrolled in an extended follow-up  trial. The estimated prostate cancer risk was 9.7% at 10 years in men  assigned to folate, compared with 3.3% in those on placebo.