Proliferation and differentiation biomarkers in colorectal mucosa and their application to chemoprevention studies.

Colorectal cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in Western countries. Because its prognosis is relatively unaffected by improvements in surgery and chemotherapy, increasing interest has recently been directed toward chemoprevention. Intermediate biomarkers of abnormal cell proliferation, differentiation, and gene expression have recently been identified and have served to measure effects of chemopreventive agents in rodent models and in short-term human clinical trials.

Descriptive epidemiology of colorectal cancer in Italy: the 6-year experience of a specialised registry.

The Colorectal Cancer Registry of Modena recorded 838 malignancies of the large bowel between 1984 and 1989. Crude Incidence rates were 59.5 new cases per 100,000 per year in men and 47.

Cell kinetics evaluation of colorectal tumors after in vivo administration of bromodeoxyuridine.

Although several biomarkers have been tested, Dukes' (or TNM) stage at diagnosis is still considered the only prognostic factor of clinical relevance in colorectal cancer. Among the various biomarkers, the fraction of cells engaged in DNA synthesis has been extensively investigated as an indicator of tumor aggressiveness. Bromodeoxyuridine (BUdR) is a non-radioactive thymidine analogue which is incorporated into DNA during the S-phase of cycling cells.

Modulation of colonic epithelial cell proliferation, histone acetylation, and luminal short chain fatty acids by variation of dietary fiber (wheat bran) in rats.

The effect of increasing amounts of wheat bran (0, 5, 10, 20%) in AIN-76 semisynthetic diet on colonic luminal short chain fatty acids, epithelial cell histone acetylation, and cytokinetics, was studied for 2 weeks in groups of 10 male Sprague-Dawley rats. Luminal contents were removed from the colon at sacrifice, quick frozen, and analyzed for short chain fatty acids by gas-liquid chromatography. Histone acetylation was assessed in cells isolated from the same animals.