Sulindac in familial adenomatous polyposis: evaluation by nuclear morphometry

• Published in: The European journal of surgery Vol. 167; no. 5; pp. 375 - 381
• Main Authors: Fernández-López, F., Conde-Freire, R., Cadarso-Suárez, C., García-Iglesias, J., Puente-Domínguez, J. L., Potel-Lesquereux, J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: UK Taylor & Francis, Ltd 01-05-2001; Taylor & Francis
• Subjects: Adenomatous Polyposis Coli - drug therapy; Adenomatous Polyposis Coli - pathology; Adenomatous Polyposis Coli - surgery; Adolescent; Adult; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal - therapeutic use; Biological and medical sciences; Colorectal Neoplasms - pathology; Digestive system; FAP; Female; Humans; Intestinal Mucosa - pathology; Male; Medical sciences; morphometry; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Rectum - pathology; sulindac; Sulindac - therapeutic use; Rectal disease; Carcinoma; Mucosa; Asymptomatic; Colectomy; Sulindac; Intestinal disease; Indene derivatives; Colon; Human; Nuclear method; Treatment efficiency; Oral administration; Malignant tumor; Familial adenomatous polyposis coli; Acetic acid derivative; Non steroidal antiinflammatory agent; Colonic disease; Chemotherapy; Analgesic; Rectum; Antipyretic; Digestive diseases; Morphometry; Comparative study; Topical administration
• ISSN: 1102-4151; 1741-9271
• DOI: 10.1080/110241501750215285

Objective:
To find out if nuclear morphometry is a useful indicator of prognosis in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) before and after treatment with sulindac.
Design:
Open study.
Setting:
Teaching hospital, Spain.
Subjects:
29 patients (17 women and 12 men) with FAP who had been treated by colectomy. There were two control groups: 17 people with healthy rectal mucosa and 10 patients with colorectal cancer.
Interventions:
The 29 patients with FAP were treated with sulindac 150 mg orally twice daily for 6 months.
Main outcome measures:
Results of histological examination of biopsy specimens and nuclear morphometry.
Results:
Before treatment, all patients with FAP had nuclei of cells in the rectal mucosa that were intermediate in size between those in healthy mucosa (small nuclei) and those in cancer (large nuclei). After 6 months' treatment with sulindac the patients with FAP no longer had any polyps and the size of the nuclei was similar to those in healthy mucosa. Only 1 patient failed to respond, and in this patient one of the polyps subsequently became malignant.
Conclusions:
Nuclear morphometry may be useful in identifying patients with FAP who are at high risk of malignant degeneration. Copyright © 2001 Taylor and Francis Ltd.