New colon cancer pathway could spur targeted treatments

University of Massachusetts Amherst food science researchers discovered a bevy of enzymes present in increased quantities in mice with colon cancer.

Researchers suspected cytochrome P450 monooxygenases and the fatty acid metabolites known as epoxyoctadecenoic acids, increased colon cancer tumor production.

Researchers performed metabolomics on healthy mice and mice with colon cancer finding that the plasma and colon concentrations of epoxyoctadecenoic acids were dramatically increased and CYP monooxygenases were overexpressed.

Researchers then studied human colon cancer cells, finding CYP monooxygenases were also overexpressed. They believe medication targeting the CYP monooxygenase pathway could be developed to either prevent or treat colon cancer.

Study author Guodong Zhang, PhD, said, "We think this is a very interesting discovery. Our research identifies a novel therapeutic target and could help to develop novel strategies to reduce the risks of colon cancer."

The findings were published in Cancer Research.

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