Resistant Starch decreases the risk of cancer in patients with lynch syndrome in a randomized trial.

Zachariah H. Foda - CGA-IGC Communications Committee

Does starch prevent cancer in patients with lynch syndrome by a mechanism that might be applicable to the general population?

“Should we recommend taking resistant starch … it’s taken thirty years how long do you want to keep on going? Why would you not want to use this?”- Professor Sir John Burn, Newcastle University

In this episode, hosted by Swati G. Patel, MD, Gastroenterologist from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Center, Professor Sir John Burn, Professor of Clinical Genetics at Newcastle University, discusses the 10-year follow-up results of the seminal Cancer Prevention Programme (CAPP2) trial described in the Cancer Prevention Research article titled “Cancer Prevention with Resistant Starch in Lynch Syndrome Patients in the CAPP2-Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial: Planned 10-Year Follow-up” which can be found here.

Professor Burn discusses the roots of the CAPP2 study, the long process to completion, and the outcomes for the specific intervention of resistant starch. In this randomized control study of 920 patients in Europe, the patients who took 30 g resistant starch daily had a decreased risk of nearly 50% of developing non-colorectal cancers compared to those who took the placebo. This was most apparent in upper GI cancers, and there was no difference seen between risk of colorectal cancers.

This study provides evidence that dietary intervention, such as increased fiber intake, is likely an important part of cancer risk reduction in patients at high risk for GI cancers. The mechanism for this protection could be potentially applicable to the general population.

“We need to work out funding models that keep us working on these types of studies over the long-term, also to collaborative internationally, this study is a demonstration that if you’re going to work on rare disease, you need to work together.” - Professor Sir John Burn, Newcastle University