Diet and metabolism: large-bowel cancer.

Epidemiological data demonstrate that colon cancer incidence is associated mainly with high dietary fat consumption. Studies in metabolic epidemiology indicate that high fat intake influences both the amount and type of bile acids and neutral sterols and intestinal microflora acting on these compounds which may contain tumorigenic activity for the colon. This is compatible with the results of studies comparing populations with high or low risk for the colon cancer and patients with colon cancer.