Can colon cancer incidence and death rates be reduced with calcium and vitamin D?

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Abstract
It was proposed in 1980 that vitamin D and calcium could reduce the risk of colon cancer. This assertion was based on the decreasing gradient of mortality rates from north to south, suggesting a mechanism related to a favorable influence of ultraviolet-induced vitamin D metabolites on metabolism of calcium. A 19-y prospective study of 1954 Chicago men found that a dietary intake of >3.75 µg vitamin D/d was associated with a 50% reduction in the incidence of colorectal cancer, whereas an intake of ≥ 1200 mg Ca/d was associated with a 75% reduction. Clinical and laboratory studies further support these findings. A nested case-control study based on serum drawn from a cohort of 25 620 individuals reported that moderately elevated concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, in the range 65–100 nmol/L, were associated with large reductions (P < 0.05) in the incidence of colorectal cancer.