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.