Women who suffer from depression are at increased risk of developing colorectal cancer, according to a new analysis of data from the Nurses’ Health Study, an ongoing study of some 127,000 female nurses.However, the researchers found no link between depressive symptoms and the risk of colorectal adenomas -- growths or polyps that can become cancerous.While depression has long been thought to play a role in the development of cancer, the data are inconclusive, Dr. Candyce H. Kroenke of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston and colleagues explain in the American Journal of Epidemiology. Depression has been tied to certain risk factors for colorectal cancer, they add, including diabetes, low estrogen levels, and behavioral risk factors such as smoking.The researchers hypothesized that depression would increase the risk of both colorectal cancer and colorectal adenomas. Their study is the first to look specifically at depression and colorectal cancer.