Effect of orally administered bovine lactoferrin on the growth of adenomatous colorectal polyps in a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial.

Lactoferrin (LF), a secreted, iron binding glycoprotein originally discovered as a component of milk, is found in a variety of exocrine secretions and in the secondary granules of polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Animal experiments have shown that oral administration of bovine lactoferrin (bLF) exerts anticarcinogenesis effects in the colon and other organs of the rat. The aim of this study was to determine whether oral bLF could inhibit the growth of adenomatous colorectal polyps in human patients. A randomized, double-blind, controlled trial was conducted in 104 participants, ages 40 to 75 years, with polyps