N-Acetylcysteine suppression of the proliferative index in the colon of patients with previous adenomatous colonic polyps

• Published in: Cancer letters Vol. 147; no. 1; pp. 109 - 114
• Main Authors: Estensen, Richard D, Levy, Michael, Klopp, Steven J, Galbraith, Arthur R, Mandel, Jack S, Blomquist, Joyce A, Wattenberg, Lee W
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier Ireland Ltd 01-12-1999; Elsevier
• Subjects: Acetylcysteine - administration & dosage; Adenomatous Polyps - pathology; Adenomatous Polyps - prevention & control; Administration, Oral; Age Factors; Biological and medical sciences; Biomarker; Biopsy; Carcinogenesis; Carcinogenesis, carcinogens and anticarcinogens; Chemical agents; Chemoprevention; Cohort Studies; Colonic Polyps - pathology; Colonic Polyps - prevention & control; Colorectal Neoplasms - pathology; Colorectal Neoplasms - prevention & control; Diet; Free Radical Scavengers - administration & dosage; Humans; Intestinal Mucosa - drug effects; Intestinal Mucosa - metabolism; Intestinal Mucosa - pathology; Large bowel; Medical sciences; Mitotic Index - drug effects; N-Acetylcysteine; Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen - metabolism; Proliferative index; Sex Factors; Tumors; Large bowel; Proliferative index; Biomarker; N-Acetylcysteine; Carcinogenesis; Chemoprevention; Human; Cell proliferation; Thiol; Premalignant lesion; Adenomatous polyp; Oral administration; Acetylcysteine; Anticarcinogen; Colonic disease; Prevention; Risk factor; Digestive diseases; Epithelial cell; Intestinal disease
• ISSN: 0304-3835; 1872-7980
• DOI: 10.1016/S0304-3835(99)00281-5

This investigation is part of an effort to develop chemoprevention for carcinogenesis of the large bowel. The agent investigated is
N-acetylcysteine (NAC). We used as a predictive biomarker, the proliferative index (PI), in a short-term human study. Patients with previous adenomatous colonic polyps are a cohort with increased risk for colon cancer and an increased PI of colonic crypts. They were randomly assigned to an experimental group given 800 mg/day of NAC for 12 weeks or a placebo group. Using proliferative cell nuclear antigen immunostaining, the PI of colonic crypts was measured prior to and after the treatments. The PI of the NAC group was decreased significantly (
P<0.02) while the placebo group showed no difference (
P>0.45). Since this decrease in PI may be an indicator of decreased risk of colon cancer, more extensive studies of the potential of NAC as a chemopreventive agent for colon cancer appear warranted.