**9.3.7 Vitamins**

There are data that vitamin D, alone or in combination with calcium plays protective role for CRC (Hawk et al., 2004). Vitamin D induces cell differentiation and inhibits cell proliferation and metastatic potential (Giovannucci, 2006). Vitamin A has similar properties as vitamin D, but there is no clear evidence of its protective role for CRC. Significant side effects of vitamin D and vitamin A restrict their usage. No convincing data exist and for the protective role of folic acid for CRC. Combined use of some vitamins with antioxidant properties, like vitamin C and vitamin E, and minerals, like selenium could enhance their impact (Patterson et al., 2000). Our data confirm this result, because we used combination formula composed of vitamin E – 80 mg, vitamin C – 100 mg, β-caroten – 10 mg and selenium – 250 μg) as a prophylactic drug in 12 patients for period of 5 years.
