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

A biomarker of increased risk for colon cancer is abnormally high proliferation of colonic epithelial cells. The authors developed an in vitro assay that measures the ability of human colonic epithelial cells that are in progressive stages of abnormal development to respond to direct application of calcium as the chloride in tissue culture medium. Incorporation of 3H-thymidine and autoradiography in situ was employed to measure the number of proliferating cells cultured at 0.1 mM CaCl2, the optimum level for growth, and 2.2 to 5 mM, both levels achievable in the colonic lumen. Abnormal cell proliferation was reduced in biopsies from 13 of 14 patients without familial polyposis but at increased risk for colon cancer because of previous colonic neoplasms or familial association; in cells from three of four asymptomatic individuals in familial polyposis families at risk for that disease; and in cells of three of ten patients symptomatic with familial polyposis. Growth of tubular adenoma cells from two of seven familial polyposis patients was also inhibited by calcium. Growth inhibition was not observed in more advanced colon tumors including eight adenomas, either villotubular or villous, and five carcinomas. These findings indicate heterogeneity within the familial polyposis phenotype for the normal cellular response to growth inhibition by calcium, and a further loss of response to calcium as these cells progress toward malignancy.
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PMID:Heterogeneity in the response of familial polyposis epithelial cells and adenomas to increasing levels of calcium in vitro. 254 88

Two in vivo and one in vitro studies were performed to evaluate the chemoprotective role of calcium during the early period of azoxymethane (AOM) induction. In the first set of experiments, groups of male Fischer 344 rats were s.c. injected with either AOM (20 mg/kg) or water (controls) and sacrificed immediately (0 time), and 1, 3, 5, and 7 days postinjection. In the second set of experiments, animals were injected with the same dose of AOM and subsequently pair-fed with rat chow containing either calcium carbonate or diet devoid of added calcium. The amount of calcium consumed was calculated to be 250 mg/kg b.w. In both experiments, colonic mucosa was assayed for ornithine decarboxylase (ODC). In addition, tyrosine kinase (Tyr-k) activity as well as tyrosine specific phosphorylation of membrane proteins were determined. Results revealed that maximal stimulation by AOM of ODC and Tyr-k activity occurred 5 days postinjection. This stimulation was significantly suppressed by calcium. AOM also produced an increase in the rate of tyrosine specific phosphorylation of two distinct colonic mucosal membrane proteins with Mr of 57,000 and 59,000. Again, dietary calcium suppressed the stimulation. In the third set of experiments, organ culture was utilized. Methylazoxymethanol, the active metabolite of AOM, was used instead of AOM in this part of the study. Four hour exposure of mucosal explants to methylazoxymethanol (1 microgram/ml) resulted in a significant (20-30%) increase in ODC and Tyr-k activity when compared to controls. Addition of either CaCl2 (2 mumol/ml) or difluoromethylornithine (2 nmol/ml) the irreversible inhibitor of ODC, significantly suppressed the methylazoxymethanol-induced activity of both ODC and Tyr-k. We conclude that calcium may have a chemoprotective role and tyrosine kinases may have a regulatory role in the early stages of AOM induction of colon cancer.
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PMID:Attenuation of azoxymethane-induced colonic mucosal ornithine decarboxylase and tyrosine kinase activity by calcium in rats. 279 Aug 2

Nine patients at high risk of developing colon cancer were placed on daily p.o. supplementation of 1500 mg of calcium for 4-8 weeks. The colonic epithelial cells in six of these patients showed a statistically significant decrease in their [3H]thymidine labeling indices in tissue culture so that they resembled those of patients at low risk of developing colon cancer. The three nonresponders had similar labeling indices before and after calcium supplementation. Biopsies from each of nine high-risk patients exhibited a decrease in proliferation when they were cultured in vitro with a high level of CaCl2 (2.2 mM compared with the 0.1 mM optimum value for proliferation). Two adenomas and two carcinomas showed a different pattern of response than normal cells, exhibiting no inhibition of growth at 2.2 mM CaCl2. These data indicate that the growth inhibition induced by high levels of extracellular calcium levels is lost at a stage in tumor development before cells become malignant.
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PMID:Inhibition of human colonic epithelial cell proliferation in vivo and in vitro by calcium. 375 91

A high-fat/high-protein diet has been reported to promote colon cancer by increasing luminal bile acid and ammonia concentrations, whereas butyrate, calcium, and low colonic pH may have protective effects. In this study, bromodeoxyuridine labeling of colonic epithelium was investigated after incubating biopsies from the ascending colon of 70 patients with HCl (20 mM, pH 6.0), butyric acid (H-BUT, 20 mM, pH 6.0), sodium butyrate (Na-BUT, 10 mM, pH 8.0), CaCl2 (10 mM), calcium butyrate (Ca-BUT, 10 mM), ammonium butyrate (NH4-BUT, 10 mM), deoxycholic acid (DCA, 5 microM), and a combination of DCA and Na-BUT (DCA/Na-BUT, 5 microM/10 mM). Compared to NaCl, H-BUT and Na-BUT increased the whole crypt-labeling index significantly, whereas HCl and CaCl2 had no effect. Reduced labeling, however, occurred with Ca-BUT in comparison to equimolar Na-BUT. No differences in the labeling indexes were found for NH4-BUT compared to Na-BUT, but increased labeling with expansion of the proliferative zone to the upper 40% of the crypt was seen with DCA compared to NaCl. DCA-induced hyperproliferation was abolished by coincubation with DCA/Na-BUT. These data suggest that butyrate, calcium, and DCA have complex influences on mucosal proliferation. Since luminal concentrations of these compounds are influenced by dietary interventions, the findings of this study may be of particular interest with regard to colon cancer development and prevention.
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PMID:Proliferation of human colonic mucosa as an intermediate biomarker of carcinogenesis: effects of butyrate, deoxycholate, calcium, ammonia, and pH. 832 39

A high-fat and low-fiber diet is regarded as a major risk factor for colon cancer by increasing luminal contents of secondary bile acids. Calcium, on the other hand, has been implicated as a possible preventive agent in colon tumor development. In in vitro studies with human colonic epithelium, incubation with the secondary bile acid deoxycholic acid (DCA) induced hyperproliferation of colonic crypt cells which is regarded as a sign of preneoplastic transformation. In the present study the effects of calcium chloride (CaCl2) on DCA-induced hyperproliferation were tested at different stages of DCA-induced cell injury. Colonic biopsies from 36 patients (no tumors, polyps or IBD) were incubated with CaCl2 (1 and 10 mM) and 5 microM DCA which was added to the incubation medium either together with (experiment A), after (experiment B), or before CaCl2 (experiment C). Coincubation of the biopsies with DCA and 10 mM CaCl2 at the same time (experiment A) resulted in a significant reduction of whole crypt labeling index by 12% (p < 0.05), whereas in the other incubation experiments no significant growth-inhibitory effects could be demonstrated for CaCl2. These findings may best be explained by the formation of calcium-bound bile acid salts which lost most of their toxicity for the colonic cells.
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PMID:Effects of calcium and deoxycholic acid on human colonic cell proliferation in vitro. 942 94

Modulation of gene expression in tumors has the potential of being a surrogate end-point biomarker for chemoprevention. Thus, we determined the modulation by chemopreventive agents of the protein and mRNA expression of genes in rat colon tumors. Male F344 rats were administered three weekly injections of 15 mg/kg azoxymethane. Forty-seven weeks later, they received aspirin (600), calcium chloride (50 000), 2-(carboxyphenyl) retinamide (2-CPR, 315), alpha-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO, 3000), piroxicam (200), quercetin (33 600), 9-cis retinoic acid (9-cis RA, 30), rutin (3000), or sulindac (280) in their diet at the indicated mg/kg concentration for 7 days and were then killed. In colon tumors relative to the mucosa, the protein and mRNA levels of c-myc were increased, while the levels of p16 and p27 were decreased. Calcium chloride, DFMO, piroxicam and sulindac administered for 7 days decreased the mitotic index and reduced the protein and mRNA levels of c-myc in colon tumors. Calcium chloride, DFMO and piroxicam increased the protein and mRNA levels of p16 and along with sulindac increased the protein level of p27, but not its mRNA. The other agents failed to modulate both the mitotic index and the expression of the genes. The ability of the chemopreventive agents to prevent colon tumors was determined. Male F344 rats were administered three weekly injections of 15 mg/kg azoxymethane and 8 weeks later they were administered aspirin, 2-CPR, DFMO, piroxicam, 9-cis RA and rutin in their diet. The rats were killed 26 weeks after they started to receive the chemopreventive agents. The multiplicity of colon tumors was reduced by DFMO and piroxicam, increased by rutin and not affected by the other agents. Hence, agents that prevented colon cancer decreased the mitotic index and altered the expression of c-myc, p16 and p27 suggesting that modulation in the expression of these genes are potential biomarkers for chemopreventive activity.
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PMID:Altered expression of c-myc, p16 and p27 in rat colon tumors and its reversal by short-term treatment with chemopreventive agents. 1218 86