Gene expression patterns distinguish colonoscopically isolated human aberrant crypt foci from normal colonic mucosa.

Aberrant crypt foci (ACF) are considered the earliest identifiable preneoplastic colonic lesions; thus, a greater understanding of the nature of genetic changes underlying the transformation of normal colonic mucosa (NM) into ACF may provide insight into the mechanisms of carcinogenesis. ACF were identified by indigo carmine spraying onto colonic mucosa during colonoscopy and isolated as standard pinch biopsies of the mucosal areas containing the ACF. RNAs isolated from ACF and matched NM biopsies from the ascending and descending colons of 13 patients were analyzed on arrays containing 9128 cDNAs.

Celecoxib treatment alters the gene expression profile of normal colonic mucosa.

A clinical trial was recently conducted to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a selective inhibitor of cyclooxygenase-2 (celecoxib) in hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer patients. In a randomized, placebo-controlled phase I/II multicenter trial, hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer patients and gene carriers received either celecoxib at one of two doses or placebo. The goal was to evaluate the effects of these treatment arms on a number of endoscopic and tissue-based biomarker end points after 12 months of treatment.

Distinguishing right from left colon by the pattern of gene expression.

Distinct epidemiological and clinicopathological characteristics of colorectal carcinomas (CRCs) based on their anatomical location suggest different risk factors and pathways of transformation associated with proximal and distal colon carcinogenesis. These differences may reflect distinct biological characteristics of proximal and distal colonic mucosa, acquired in embryonic or postnatal development, that determine a differential response to uniformly distributed environmental factors. Alternatively, the differences in the epidemiology of proximal and distal CRCs could result from the presence of different procarcinogenic factors in the ascending versus descending colon, acting on cells with either similar or distinct biological characteristics.

Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic effects of oral eniluracil, fluorouracil and leucovorin given on a weekly schedule.

Purpose: To determine the toxicities and pharmacokinetic effects of eniluracil (EU) given on two weekly dosing schedules with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and leucovorin (LV).

Methods: A group of 26 patients received a single 24-h i.v.