Measurement of telomerase activity has a diagnostic value in colorectal patients. In rectal cancer, telomerase index is an independent prognostic factor for disease progression. A telomerase index

Pérez-Holanda S, Rodrigo L, Viñas-Salas J, Piñol-Felis C. Effect of ethanol consumption on colon cancer in an experimen tal model. Rev Esp Enferm Dig 2003; 95: 87-96. ABSTRACTAims: the present study was designed to examine the effect of an ethanol supplement on experimental colon carcinogenesis.Material and methods: one hundred and ten 10-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups: group A (20 rats) received no treatment. Group B (20 rats) received a supplement of ethanol at 1.23 g/kg of body weight per day added to their drinking water for 24 weeks. Group C (30 rats) received 18 weekly doses of dimethylhydrazine (DMH) at 21 mg/kg of body weight from the beginning of the study. Group D (20 rats) received ethylen-diamin-tetracetic acid (EDTA) solution only for 18 weeks. Group E (20 rats) received ethanol at the same dose as group B plus DMH injections at the same dose as the rats in group C from the beginning of the study. All experimental animals were sacrified after 25-27 weeks.Results: no significant differences in the number of rats that developed tumors, number of tumor-free animals, and number of tumors per rat, as well as in macro-microscopic tumoral findings were observed for animals in group C compared to animals in group E.Conclusions: we concluded that the addition of an ethanol supplement does not modify colorectal carcinogenesis using a dynamic model of tumor induction with DMH.

Objective: to examine the effect of fecal absence on experimental colon carcinogenesis in both male and female rats. Material and methods: a total of 138 10-week-old Sprague-Dawley, male and female rats were divided into five groups: A) 20 rats, no treatment; B) 26 rats, colonic defunctionalization; C) 30 rats, 18 weekly doses of dimethylhydrazine (DMH), 21 mg/kg body weight each, from the beginning of the study; D) 20 rats, ethylen-diamine-tetraacetic acid for 18 weeks; and E) 42 rats, same surgical procedure as rats in group B plus DMH injections at the same doses as rats in group C. Animals were sacrificed after 25-27 weeks. Number of tumors, their location, and pathological findings were all compared between groups. Results: no tumors developed in the dimethylhydrazine-free groups. No differences were obtained either in number of tumors or tumors per rat for group C as compared to group E. Fecal absence was associated with smaller-sized tumors (p = 0.007), greater numbers of non-mucinous tumors (p = 0.00009), better differentiation (p = 0.0054), and lesser penetration into the wall (p = 0.015) for group E as compared to group C. In the dimethylhydrazine group, fecal absence altered the number of tumors developing in males as compared to female rats (p = 0.025). Moreover, this fecal absence showed no inhibitory effect on right colonic tumors (p = 0.0065). Conclusions: fecal absence alters the DMH-carcinogenic pattern in the defunctionalized colon when using an experimental model in both male and female rats.

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