FECAL NEUTRAL STEROLS ARE INCREASED IN PATIENTS WITH COLORECTAL-CANCER

It is unclear whether fecal neutral sterol excretion and concentration and cholesterol degradation are altered in patients with colorectal c ancer. Developments in the extraction and analysis of fecal neutral st erols lead us to reexamine neutral sterol profiles in 12 patients with colorectal cancer and 18 control subjects using gas chromatography. C ancer and control groups were similar with respect to age, gender and body mass index. The median [25 and 75, percentiles] daily stool weigh ts were lower in the cancer group (82 [61, 147] g/day(-1)) compared to controls (156 [96, 229] g/day(-1); p = 0.02). Fecal neutral sterol ex cretion was similar in the two groups (cancer, 451 [360, 705] vs contr ols, 441 [350, 621] mu mol/day(-1)), but the neutral sterol concentrat ion was higher in patients with cancer (29.9 [18.8, 36.5] vs 16.3 [12. 1, 22.1] mu mol g(-1) dry wt; p = 0.006). There were no significant di fferences in the proportions of cholesterol metabolized between the ca ncer group (81 [75.8, 88.6]%) and control group (70.1 [62.3, 85.5]%). This study supports previous work indicating increased fecal neutral s terol concentrations in patients with colorectal cancer.