HOW DOES DIET CONTRIBUTE TO COLON-CANCER DEVELOPMENT - INTERACTION BETWEEN GENETIC ALTERATIONS AND NUTRIENTS IN THE DEREGULATION OF GROWTH

Both hereditary and nutritional factors contribute to the development of colorectal cancer - a slow, stepwise process driven by the accumula tion of genetic changes in the tumor cells and by progressive deregula tion of growth. Dietary factors can both cause somatic mutations and s timulate tumor growth. This review explores the mechanisms of growth r egulation in colonic tumors and the interaction between genetic change s and growth modulators derived from our diet. Most of the genetic def ects observed in colon carcinogenesis have a potency of affecting grow th control, creating a premalignant cell population that is highly sus ceptible to regulatory signals. Growth stimulators are bile acids, 1,2 -diglycerides, and prostaglandins stemming from fat consumption, while fruits and vegetables contain various substances that might inhibit g rowth - like carotinoids, flavonoids and of course fiber. Similar prot ective effects may be caused by Ca2+ and the vitamins A and D. Diet is a complex mixture of all these tumor-enhancing and tumor-inhibiting c onstituents, whose effects and interactions have to be understood to d evelop cancer-protective dietary patterns.