Cancer Letters

Cancer Letters

Volume 93, Issue 1, 29 June 1995, Pages 55-71
Cancer Letters

Role of aberrant crypt foci in understanding the pathogenesis of colon cancer

https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3835(95)03788-XGet rights and content

Abstract

Aberrant crypt foci (ACF) are present in carcinogen treated rodent colons and in the colons of humans with a high risk for developing the disease. It is proposed that ACF are preneoplastic lesions. Quantification of the number and growth features of ACF has been employed to study modulators of colon carcinogenesis. In this review, examples are presented to support the concept that ACF are preneoplastic lesions and that sequential quantification of their number and growth features (crypt multiplicity) in animal colons may provide further insight into the pathogenesis of colon cancer. It is proposed that cellular and molecular heterogeneity among ACF with different growth and morphologic features will be invaluable in the identification of events critically associated with cancer development.

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      Growth performance and nutrition utilization variables serve as sensitive indicators of general animal health and well-being, excluding their interference in tissue assays, in addition to presenting the nutritional behavior of the rats under experimental conditions employed. ACF is also considered a suitable biomarker for the evaluation of predisposing and preventive factors during the early stages of colon carcinogenesis in experimental models (Bird, 1987; Mori et al., 2005). In the present study, we investigated the protective role of jabuticaba yogurt (YE) against DMH-induced colorectal cancer (CRC, 8-week) in a rat model.

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