Ultimately employing preventative measures for cancer are the most effective method for the management of this disease. Early detection through better screening and detection techniques represents the best weapon against many cancers. Since 2003 the CCRC has been actively running a colorectal cancer prevention clinic. Active prevention strategies are being examined, particularly through dietary manipulation and introduction of natural cancer preventative ingredients into the diet.

In recent years there has been much interest in the influence of the normal gastrointestinal (GI) microflora and its complementation with probiotic bacteria on host health and, in particular, the role it plays in cancer initiation and progression. Modulation of the GI flora has the potential for influencing the process of carcinogenesis and animal studies have confirmed it can play a protective role in preventing the onset of colon cancer, suggesting that altering the intestinal microflora can influence tumour development.

Progress in the appropriate use of pre and probiotics should lead to a dramatic change in the morbidity and mortality pattern of colorectal cancer in the developed world, with the added advantage in the absence of severe side effects, the ease of administration and the attractiveness of a more natural prevention strategy to subjects at risk.