Resveratrol, a phytoalexin found in grapes and other food products, was purified and shown to have cancer chemopreventive activity in assays representing three major stages of carcinogenesis. Resveratrol was found to act as an antioxidant and antimutagen and to induce phase II drug-metabolizing enzymes (anti-initiation activity); it mediated anti-inflammatory effects and inhibited cyclooxygenase and hydroperoxidase functions (antipromotion activity); and it induced human promyelocytic leukemia cell differentiation (antiprogression activity). In addition, it inhibited the development of preneoplastic lesions in carcinogen-treated mouse mammary glands in culture and inhibited tumorigenesis in a mouse skin cancer model. These data suggest that resveratrol, a common constituent of the human diet, merits investigation as a potential cancer chemopreventive agent in humans.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/275/5297/218.full.pdf

Cancer Chemopreventive Activity of Resveratrol, a Natural Product Derived from Grapes

Identification and characterization of the familial adenomatous polyposis coli gene

https://www.gastrojournal.org/article/0016-5085(94)90246-1/pdf

Up-regulation of cyclooxygenase 2 gene expression in human colorectal adenomas and adenocarcinomas

Background Patients with familial adenomatous polyposis have a nearly 100 percent risk of colorectal cancer. In this disease, the chemopreventive effects of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs may be related to their inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2. Methods We studied the effect of celecoxib, a selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor, on colorectal polyps in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study, we randomly assigned 77 patients to treatment with celecoxib (100 or 400 mg twice daily) or placebo for six months. Patients underwent endoscopy at the beginning and end of the study. We determined the number and size of polyps from photographs and videotapes; the response to treatment was expressed as the mean percent change from base line. Results At base line, the mean (±SD) number of polyps in focal areas where polyps were counted was 15.5±13.4 in the 15 patients assigned to placebo, 11.5±8.5 in the 32 patients assigned to 100 mg of celecoxib twice a day, and 12...

The Effect of Celecoxib, a Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibitor, in Familial Adenomatous Polyposis

Alterations in cellular adhesion and apoptosis in epithelial cells overexpressing prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase 2

Four members of a Gardner's syndrome family had rectal and colon polyposis treated with nonsteroid anti-inflammatory drugs. Three of these patients had had subtotal colectomy and ileoproctostomy and the residual polyps arose in the rectal mucosa. The polyps almost completely disappeared when sulindac was administered. Indomethacin therapy over the course of a preceding year was ineffective in one of these patients. One patient (case 4) had diffuse polyposis in an intact colon. After sulindac therapy for a year, only three small mucosal polyps could be identified by air contrast barium enema and colonoscopic examination. These observations confirm those of Pollard and Luckert [1,2] on rats with chemically induced polyposis of the intestinal tract.

Sulindac for polyposis of the colon.

The effect of sulindac, a nonsteroid antiinflammatory drug, on colon polyposis has been evaluated in seven patients after subtotal colectomy and ileoproctostomy and in four patients with intact colons. The patients all had Gardner's syndrome or familial polyposis coli. All polyps were eliminated, except for a few that arose in the rectal mucosa and the anal canal. No cancers developed in these patients on follow-up.

A HIGH incidence of jejunal ulcer after pancreaticoduodenectomy has been reported.1The factors responsible for this have not been defined. Among the possible causes are (1) impingement of acid-peptic secretion on anatomosed jejunum with low resistance to ulceration, (2) unusually high secretory activity of the gastric remnant, (3) reduction or absence of pancreatic secretion secondary to pancreatic resection or pancreatic duct obstruction, and (4) ulcerogenic anastomotic arrangement with diversion of bile and pancreatic secretion away from the gastrojejunostomy. In an attempt to understand this problem better, gastric secretion tests have been carried out on 14 patients after pancreaticoduodenectomy. The results of these secretory tests have been correlated with the presence or absence of ulcers, the type of reconstruction after resection, and the extent of gastric resection. By comparison with similar data on other groups of patients it is possible to place this type of patient in perspective and arrive

Richard W. Loughry

Papers

Sulindac for polyposis of the colon.

Sulindac for polyposis of the colon.

Gastric Acid Secretion After Pancreaticoduodenectomy