INTERACTIONS BETWEEN THE ENVIRONMENT AND GENES IN THE COLON

Colorectal cancer is now widely accepted to be the result of an accumu lation of mutations in specific genes controlling cell division, apopt osis and DNA repair. There is also a wealth of evidence that dietary f actors, including dietary fat and fibre, influence the development of colorectal cancer However, until recently, there has been little under standing of how these dietary factors and genetic factors interact, It is generally believed that this interaction is mediated in part by ev ents occurring in the lumen of the large bowel, By characterizing the dietary/luminal factors that interact with the genes implicated in tum our development in the colon, a new understanding of colorectal cancer is likely to emerge, hopefully leading to the formulation of dietary recommendations to decrease the risk of this cancer. Eur J Cancer Prev 7 (suppl 2): S69-S73 (C) 1998 Lippincott-Raven Publishers.