Research appearing in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention (2009; 18(8): 2195-201) compared 224 patients with colorectal cancer and compared them to 411 healthy controls. They found that the amount of pyridoxal-5-phosphate (the active form of vitamin B6) tended to be lower in the cancer patients than in the controls. The authors of the study said that it may be an indicator that vitamin B6 may help lower the risk of colorectal cancer.