title: Colon cancer: prevalence, screening, gene expression and mutation, and risk factors and assessment.
abstract: Colon cancer detection at an early stage and identifying susceptible individuals can result in reduced mortality from this prevalent cancer. Genetic events leading to the development of this cancer involve a multistage progression of adenoma polyps to invasive metastatic carcinomas. Currently, there is no satisfactory screening method that is highly specific, sensitive, or reliable. Dietary patterns associated with the greatest increase in colon cancer risk are the ones that typify a diet rich in fat and calories, and low in vegetable, fruits, and fibers. Genetic susceptibility to environmental carcinogenesis must be factored into the risk assessment for this cancer. Many genes have been shown to be associated with increased expression and mutations in colorectal cancer patients. These genes have been reviewed; it is hoped that by carefully selecting a number of them, a molecular approach that is suitable for arriving at a tumorigenic expression index is developed, which will reliably detect this cancer at an early stage (i.e., before it metastasizes), especially in exfoliated samples (e.g., stool and blood), so that appropriate intervention strategies can be implemented. Illustrated herein is the utility of employing real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to quantitatively measure gene expression, and develop an index that is specific for this cancer, which if perfected may result in a reliable and sensitive screening technique for colorectal cancer detection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Leo W. Jenkins Cancer Center, The Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina 27858, USA. ahmedf@mail.ecu.edu
authors.forename: Farid E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Ahmed
mesh_terms: D011125:Adenomatous Polyposis Coli; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics*; D003123:Colorectal Neoplasms, Hereditary Nonpolyposis / Q000175:diagnosis; D004032:Diet; D015870:Gene Expression; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening; D009154:Mutation; D015995:Prevalence; D012313:RNA / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D012313:RNA