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Query: UMLS:C0699790 (colon cancer)
 28,837 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Colonic pH is important in the regulation of colonic cell growth, control of absorption and secretion, and bile acid degradation, which may be a key step in the development of colon cancer. This study determined the mucosal, luminal, and fecal pH in right and left colons of otherwise healthy patients who underwent colostomies because of trauma. The pH was evaluated while patients consumed a western diet. In addition, the mucosal, luminal, and fecal pH in patients with colostomies carried out for colorectal cancer also was assessed. All patients were blacks--a low-risk group for colorectal cancer. The results showed that mucosal pH was alkaline (pH 8) and was similar on both sides of the colon of healthy colostomates and in colon cancer patients. Luminal pH (7.6) was the same in healthy right colostomates and cancer patients and was significantly lower that mucosal pH. Fecal pH was significantly lower in right colostomates (6.0) than in left (6.5), and in healthy right colostomates compared with colon cancer patients (6.6). In addition, fecal pH was significantly lower than mucosal and luminal pH.
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PMID:Colonic pH: a comparison between patients with colostomies due to trauma and colorectal cancer. 172 29

The proposed intermediate steps in the relationship between a diet-dependent increase in colonic bile acids and proliferation of colonic cells were studied in rats. Male Wistar rats were fed diets supplemented with increasing amounts of steroids to increase the bile acid concentration of the colon. After 2 weeks, in vivo colonic proliferation was measured using tritiated thymidine incorporation into DNA. Luminal lytic activity was measured as lysis of erythrocytes by fecal water. To quantify hemolysis in the presence of fecal water, a method was developed which measures Fe-release using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. This method proved to be superior to the cell-counter method published earlier. Our results showed that steroid supplementation increased, in a dose-dependent manner, the total fecal and the soluble bile acid concentration as well as lytic activity of fecal water and colonic proliferation. A highly significant correlation between lytic activity of fecal water and colonic proliferation (r = 0.85, n = 24, P less than 0.001) was observed. These results indicate that the increase in colonic proliferation is mediated by diet-dependent increases in soluble colonic bile acid concentration and luminal lytic activity. This sequence of effects illustrates how diet could influence the risk for colon cancer.
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PMID:Diet-induced increase of colonic bile acids stimulates lytic activity of fecal water and proliferation of colonic cells. 173 71

The theory that endogenous factors in the intestinal contents may be pathogenic during large bowel carcinogenesis was tested in the dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-induced rat colon cancer model. Thirty female Wistar rats, each serving as their own control, had a surgical transection of the proximal colon with reanastomosis to the rectum, thereby excluding part of the colon from faecal contact. All rats then received a course of DMH (40 mg/kg body wt/wk s.c. for 10 weeks) while fed on Vivonex. This diet was selected because it lacks known exogenous (dietary) cocarcinogens. It also produces mucosal atrophy in functioning (proximal) colon, to parallel the disuse atrophy induced in the defunctioned (distal) colon. Animals remained on the diet throughout the experiment and were killed when moribund or at 40 weeks. At necropsy, the anatomical distribution, number, size and histological type of colon tumours were compared between functioning and defunctioned colonic segments within the same animal. At autopsy, there were significantly fewer colon tumours in the defunctioned segment (P less than 0.005). Furthermore, there were significantly fewer carcinomas (P less than 0.005) and fewer tumours greater than 1 cm diameter (P less than 0.01) in this segment. The data indicate that endogenous factors in the intestinal contents facilitate chemically-induced colon carcinogenesis. Luminal nutrition may be implicated.
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PMID:Experimental colon carcinogenesis is facilitated by endogenous factors in the intestinal contents. 732 35

Luminal free fatty acids and bile acids may damage the colonic epithelium and stimulate proliferation, which may increase the risk of colon cancer. It has been suggested that only soluble calcium ions (Ca2+) precipitate fatty acids and bile acids, thus reducing their lytic activity. Consequently, precipitation of luminal Ca2+ by dietary phosphate should inhibit these effects. To evaluate the proposed antagonistic effects of dietary calcium and phosphate, we studied the intestinal interactions between calcium, phosphate, fatty acids, and bile acids in rats fed purified diets that differed only in the concentrations of calcium and phosphate. Increased dietary calcium drastically decreased the solubility of fatty acids in the ileum, colon, and faeces, as well as the solubility of bile acids in the colon and faeces. Although dietary calcium strongly increased the total faecal fatty acid concentration and hardly affected the total faecal bile acid concentration, the fatty acid and bile acid concentrations in faecal water were drastically decreased by dietary calcium. Consequently, the lytic activity of faecal water was decreased. Dietary phosphate did not interfere with these intestinal effects of calcium. These results indicate that dietary phosphate does not inhibit the protective effects of dietary calcium on luminal solubility and the lytic activity of fatty and bile acids.
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PMID:Effects of dietary calcium and phosphate on the intestinal interactions between calcium, phosphate, fatty acids, and bile acids. 847 85

Luminal nutrition is important for maintenance of gastrointestinal mucosal structure and function. In particular, short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), metabolic products of anaerobic bacterial fermentation of dietary fiber and resistant starch, are particularly important as the preferred respiratory fuel of the colonocytes. A variety of biological effects of SCFAs have been reported, and there is now increasing number of experimental works showing new aspects of these molecules. For example, as the mechanisms mediating anti-inflammatory effects of SCFAs, several investigators identified the inhibitory effect of butyrate on proinflammatory cytokine-induced NF-kappaB activation. Various inflammatory responses are now discussed with the central role of NF-kappaB activation, and thus the inhibition of NF-kappaB activation represents the efficacy of dietary fiber and SCFAs in the treatment with inflammatory bowel disease. Furthermore, recent advance in molecular technology has identified mechanisms mediating anti-tumor effects of SCFAs. SCFAs modulate expression of cell cycle-regulating proteins and induce apoptosis in colon cancer cells. SCFAs increase the susceptibility of colon cancer cells to complement-mediated cell injury. In this review, new aspects of functions of SCFAs are focused and summarized.
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PMID:Role of dietary fiber and short-chain fatty acids in the colon. 1257 Aug 25

In colon cancer, the activities of polyamine-synthesizing enzymes and polyamine content are increased 3-4-fold over that found in the equivalent normal colonic mucosa, and polyamines have even been attributed as markers of neoplastic proliferation in the colon. Furthermore, and in contrast with all other cell systems in the body, normal and neoplastic cells in the colon are exposed to high concentrations of putrescine from the lumen, synthesized by colonic microflora. While such a high polyamine supply may be of benefit in non-neoplastic colonic mucosal growth, the role of luminal polyamines in colon cancer is a clear concern. Luminal polyamines are readily taken up by neoplastic colonocytes, they are utilized in full to support neoplastic growth, and their uptake is strongly up-regulated by the mitogens known to play an important role in colonic carcinogenesis. Inhibition of polyamine synthesis and their uptake, impaired utilization of exogenous polyamines, and enhanced catabolism of polyamines in neoplastic colonocytes are therefore logical approaches in the chemoprevention of colorectal cancer.
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PMID:Polyamines and colon cancer. 1265 43

Chromobox (CBX) family proteins are canonical components in polycomb repressive complexes 1 (PRC1), with epigenetic regulatory function and transcriptionally repressing target genes via chromatin modification. A plethora of studies have highlighted the function specifications among CBX family members in various cancer, including lung cancer, colon cancer and breast cancer. Nevertheless, the functions and prognostic roles of distinct CBX family members in breast cancer (BC) remain elusive. In this study, we reported the prognostic values of CBX family members in patients with BC through analysis of a series of databases, including CCLE, ONCOMINE, Xena Public Data Hubs, and Kaplan-Meier plotter. It was found that the mRNA expression of CBX family members were noticeably higher in BC than normal counterparts. CBX2 was highly expressed in Basal-like and HER-2 subtypes, while CBX4 and CBX7 expressions were enriched in Luminal A and Luminal B subtypes of BC. Survival analysis revealed that CBX1, CBX2 and CBX3 mRNA high expression was correlated to worsen relapse-free survival (RFS) for all BC patients, while CBX4, CBX5, CBX6 and CBX7 high expression was correlated to better RFS in this setting. Noteworthily, CBX1 and CBX2 were associated with chemoresistance whereas CBX7 was associated with tamoxifen sensitivity, as well as chemosensitivity in breast tumors. Therefore, we propose that CBX1, CBX2 and CBX7 are potential targets for BC treatment. The results might be beneficial for better understanding the complexity and heterogeneity in the molecular underpinning of BC, and to develop tools to more accurately predict the prognosis of patients with BC.
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PMID:Prognostic values of distinct CBX family members in breast cancer. 2919 Sep 23