Inflammation in colon may get doused before fueling cancer development

February 03, 2009

A tiny molecule found in most plant-based foods douses the flames before damaging lesions can form in the colon, according to a study by Texas AgriLife Research scientist Dr. Nancy Turner.

Even better, the compound can be obtained easily by eating vegetables and fruit rather than by taking expensive prescriptions or supplements, Turner said.

The molecule is quercetin. Tiny but potent, quercetin gets into the body through onions, peppers, tomatoes and most other common produce but also in "fun things like wine," she said. "Just about any plant-based food in the human diet has some level of quercetin."

Previous studies showed quercetin was effective in reducing the rate of colon cancer in laboratory tests, but Turner's latest research, published in the Journal of Nutrition, shows how the compound works. That means researchers may now begin to understand how quercetin could help other inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's and celiac disease.

"The nice thing is that albeit high relative to what you see in the American diet, the level used in this study is actually similar to what can be achieved in diets around the world such as in, say, the Mediterranean-style diets," she said. "So it's not an unachievable goal for us good ol' Americans if we do the right thing with our food consumption."

For this study, Turner's team examined the response of quercetin-supplement diets in lab rats -- some in the early stages of colon cancer formation and others without cancer.

"Early lesions in a colon are some of the first true changes in the colon that can be observed visually," she said. "This in not just something you see in our animal model. You see it in human patients as well."

Called "aberrant crypts," they are thought to be a marker or predictor of tumor formation. Quercetin is known to reduce the number of these crypts, she noted, "But we wanted to know how it might be protecting."

Cancer is often characterized as an uncontrolled growth in our bodies, but scientists now say that a natural process of cell death, or "apoptosis," is also critically important in cancer, Turner said. That is, a healthy body should have an equilibrium between new cells and cells that have done their job and are ready to be sloughed off.

"We found that we were deriving benefit from both of those," Turner said of the quercetin diet study. "We were able to decrease the number of cells that were proliferating in the colon. And we were able to increase the number of cells that were undergoing apoptosis. So the net effect of that is, we were able to maintain almost a normal number of cells."

Turner's team then decided to examine relatively new findings - that inflammation is one of the biggest contributors of the development of colon cancer.

They targeted two enzymes - known to researchers as Cox-1 and Cox-2. The first is a routine protein that the body expresses all the time, she said. But the second Cox has implications in a lot of diseases.

"Cox-2 is an inducible protein that is expressed in the body when there is some kind of external stimulous to a cell. We think of high levels of Cox-2 as being a bad thing."

One of those bad things is colon cancer. Not only is Cox-2 present in that disease, but recent research showed that before Cox-2 levels rose in colon cancer, the Cox-1 levels first became elevated. Cox-1, therefore, has some sort of control over whether Cox-2 gets expressed, she explained.

"We did see that both groups - both the control groups and the carcinogen-injected groups that were consuming quercetin in their diets - had lower levels of both Cox-1 and Cox-2," Turner said. "So that would tend to suggest that there may be opportunity for quercetin to suppress tumor development."

She said that additional research is needed on this portion of the work to better understand the connections. But she advised people to go ahead and eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.

"Overall, one of the best recommendations we've all heard from the day we were children is 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away.' The only addition is, don't peel your apple," she said. Compounds such as quercetin in plants are initially there to protect the plant against pests, UV sun rays and other problems, Turner said. "So these compounds are located where the plant most needs them, which is typically on the outside - in the peel. Try your best to eat the whole food where ever possible, so that you can get the most from these beneficial compounds."

She noted that in addition to colon cancer, quercetin has shown positive impacts in warding off other chronic ailments such as cardiovascular disease.

Texas A&M AgriLife Communications

DNA Repair in Cancer Therapy (Cancer Drug Discovery and Development)
by Lawrence C. Panasci (Editor), Moulay A. Alaoui-Jamali (Editor)

A comprehensive review of the recent developments in DNA repair that have potential for translational and clinical applications. The authors explain in detail the various mechanisms by which cancer cells can circumvent anticancer therapy and limits its usefulness in patients. They also review the clinical impact of such novel inhibitors of DNA repair mechanisms as methylguanine-DNA-methyltransferase. Also examined are inhibitors of other DNA repair enzymes such as PARP and DNA-PK, now under development and close to clinical trials. The book captures-for both cancer researchers and practicing oncologists dealing with hallmark "relapse" or "drug resistance" phenomena on a daily basis-the many exciting new uses of DNA repair inhibitors, either alone or in combination with anticancer...

Genes, Development and Cancer: The Life and Work of Edward B. Lewis
by Howard D. Lipshitz (Editor)

- For the first time, Nobel Prize winner, Edward B. Lewis' research papers are published within one volume - Papers are organized into sections that reflect the focus of the research - Commentaries by Howard Lipshitz highlight key methods and results by explaining the science so it is accessible to upper-level undergraduates, graduate students, and professional researchers

Defeat Cancer: 15 Doctors of Integrative & Naturopathic Medicine Tell You How
by Connie Strasheim (Author), 13 Cancer Doctors (Author), Richard Linchitz MD (Introduction), Robert Rowen MD (Introduction)

ONE-ON-ONE WITH 15 CANCER DOCTORS:

If you traveled the world for appointments with fifteen cancer doctors, you would discover many of the cutting-edge treatments used to heal the body from cancer. You would also spend thousands of dollars on hotels, plane tickets, and medical appointment fees-not to mention the time that it would take to embark on such a journey.

Even if you had the time and money to travel, would the physicians have enough time to answer all of your questions? Would you even know which questions to ask?

In this long-awaited book, health care journalist Connie Strasheim has done all the work for you. She conducted intensive interviews with fifteen highly regarded doctors who specialize in cancer treatment, asking them thoughtful, important...

Anticancer Drug Development Guide (Cancer Drug Discovery and Development)
by Beverly A. Teicher (Editor), Paul A. Andrews (Editor)

This thoroughly updated and expanded second edition of Beverly Teicher's widely used classic survey provides a step-by-step guide to anticancer drug development from initial design through FDA approval. The authors have included new material on the use of high throughput screening in industry, on specialized in vitro/in vivo procedures employed by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in preclinical drug evaluations, and on nonclinical testing to support both human clinical trials, as well as trials of biologic oncology products. The chapters on phase I, II, and III clinical trials and on novel phase II clinical trial designs for targeted therapies have been significantly updated, along with those on cancer drug development in Europe, working with the NCI, and the FDA's role in cancer drug...

A Cancer Source Book for Nurses, 8th Edition
by AMERICAN CANCER (Author)

A Cancer Source Book For Nurses, Eighth Edition Is Intended For Nurses In Every Practice Setting Who Are Involved With Providing Care For Cancer Survivors, Individuals With Cancer, And Those At Risk For Cancer. The Book Covers The Most Common Cancers And Strategies For Nursing Care. Several New Chapters Have Been Added, Including Chapters On Sexuality, Alternative Therapies, Vascular Access Devices, Clinical Trials, And Special Populations; Other Chapters Have Been Revised Extensively To Reflect Current Knowledge And Trends, And Include How To Manage Symptoms, The Latest On Cancer Prevention And Detection, Childhood Cancers, And Survivorship Issues. Chapters On The Most Common Cancers Include Information On Incidence, Risk Factors, Early Detection, Diagnostic Evaluation And Staging,...

American Cancer Society Complete Guide to Complementary & Alternative Cancer Therapies
by American Cancer Society (Author), David Rosenthal (Foreword)

Written for consumers, patients, and families seeking reliable information about nontraditional therapies, this is a quick and easy guide to the latest information about complementary and alternative methods most commonly available to people with cancer. It includes more than 250 entries covering a broad range of topics, such as herbs, vitamins, minerals, mind/body/spirit, diet and nutrition, physical touch, and biological methods. Each entry provides a synopsis of what the method involves and what effects can occur. Current research findings are explained in brief and understandable language, providing fast access to specific areas of interest.

Mature Beyond Their Years: The Impact of Cancer on Adolescent Development
by K.L. Neville (Author)

Childhood and adolescent cancer has evolved from an inevitably fatal disease to a potentially life-threatening, chronic one. This book offers a fresh perspective on providing holistic, age-appropriate health care by addressing normal developmental tasks during adolescence, psychosocial issues of seriously ill adolescents, common pediatric cancers and treatments, the unique aspects of surviving cancer as a young adult, and the need for continued psychosocial support and treatment.

Platinum-Based Drugs in Cancer Therapy (Cancer Drug Discovery and Development)
by Lloyd R. Kelland (Editor), Nicholas P. Farrell (Editor)

Leading international experts comprehensively review all aspects of platinum anticancer drugs and their current use in treatment, as well as examining their future therapeutic prospects. Writing from a variety of disciplines, these authorities discuss the chemistry of cisplatin in aqueous solution, the molecular interaction of platinum drugs with DNA, and such exciting new areas as DNA mismatch repair and replicative bypass, apoptosis, and the transport of platinum drugs into tumor cells. The emergent platinum drugs of the future-orally active agents, the sterically hindered ZD0473, and the polynuclear charged platinum BBR3464-are also fully considered. Timely and interdisciplinary, Platinum-Based Drugs in Cancer Therapy offers cancer therapeutics specialists an illuminating survey of...

Handbook of Anticancer Drug Development
by Daniel R. Budman (Author), Alan Hilary Calvert (Author), Eric Keith Rowinsky (Author)

Written by leading investigators from academia and the pharmaceutical industry, this volume is a comprehensive, practical guide for all researchers involved in anticancer drug development. The book covers the entire field from preclinical research, through clinical trials, to licensure requirements in the United States and in the European Union. Chapters address drug discovery, preclinical models, drug measurement, delivery systems, Phase I trial design, and Phase II-III testing. The book provides state-of-the-art coverage of contemporary drug design concepts, in vitro models, new assay methodologies, good manufacturing practice criteria in the US and EU, and new methods for testing anticancer agents in humans.

Genomics and Pharmacogenomics in Anticancer Drug Development and Clinical Response (Cancer Drug Discovery and Development)
by Federico Innocenti (Editor)

The availability of new molecular approaches to the selection of drug therapy is an emerging need, as the traditional approach based on the evaluation of patient and tumor characteristics is clearly far from optimal. Many, and in most cases the majority of treated patients do not have significant benefits from the treatment while they often experience moderate to severe toxicities. In “Pharmacogenomics, Anticancer Drug Discovery, and Response”, edited by Federico Innocenti, readers will find a series of chapters addressing the role of genomic information in cancer therapy and in drug development representing a unique source, as it describes experimental approaches, statistical strategies, and clinical examples of the application of genomic medicine in oncology. This book provides the...