Right-Sided Colon Gets Rid of Cancer: Japan Team

   Tokyo, Nov. 8 (Jiji Press)--Cancer is rarely detected in the right-sided colon because genes' function of ejecting tumor cells and other foreign substances there is as strong as in the small intestine, which has a powerful immune system, a Japanese research team announced Friday.
   It has been known that colorectal cancer occurs in left-sided colorectum at an incident rate of some 80 pct while the small intestine and the right colon are almost cancer-free.
   Through endoscopic intestinal step biopsies and exhaustive genetic analysis, the group of researchers from the National Cancer Center and Osaka University found that the expression of genes related to xenobiotic stimulus and antimicrobial peptide is high in the right colon.
   The finding suggests that foreign substances not digested or absorbed in the small intestine undergo metabolism in the right colon, Yutaka Saito, endoscopy division head at the National Cancer Center Hospital, and colleagues said.
   In the study, which covered both colorectal cancer patients and healthy people, the researchers also confirmed differences in gene expression in the normal mucosa in patients compared to healthy controls. In particular, those having tumors showed a considerable variation in gene expression in non-tumor tissues, even in the terminal ileum distant from the tumor site.

(2024/11/08-21:21)

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