Abstract
This paper is to review recent information about the relationship of calcium and dairy foods to colon cancer. The review focuses on primary prevention, discusses the potential components in dairy foods that might be anti-neoplastic, reviews the epidemiologic information and describes intervention studies demonstrating efficacy of calcium and vitamin D in reducing colorectal polyp recurrence. Since vitamin D is important in cancer prevention, pertinent data is discussed and potential mechanisms of actions presented. Calcium and vitamin D are important agents for the primary prevention of colorectal neoplasia.