Human colorectal cancer initiation is bidirectional, and cell growth, metabolic genes and transporter genes are early drivers of tumorigenesis

The role of stem cells in the development of solid tumors remains controversial. In colorectal cancers (CRC), this is complicated by the conflicting “top-down” or “bottom-up” hypotheses of cancer initiation. We profiled the expressions of genes from the top (T) and bottom (B) crypt fractions of normal-appearing human colonic mucosa (M) at least 20 cm away from the tumor as a baseline and compared this to the genes of matched mucosa adj acent to tumors (MT) in twenty-three sporadic CRC patients. In thirteen patients, the genetic distance (M-MT) between the B fractions is smaller than the distance between the T fractions, indicating that the expressions diverge further in the top fractions (B
Source: Cancer Letters - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research