ve for foods in the United States. Quercetin can be naturally found in most fruits and vegetables, such as cranberries and onions, as well as tea. Quercetin, when digested in the colon, breaks down into rutin. Many colorectal cancers begin as noncancerous growths, called polyps, in the mucosal lining of the colon and rectum, the last part of the digestive tract. An inherited defective gene can cause some forms of the disease, but not all. The polyps develop because the normal routine of cell division and apoptosis goes awry. When apoptosis is disabled, tissues that rely on it no longer have a way to regulate their cell populations and cancer may ensue.

In the study, Shiff and fellow researchers will examine the influence of administering different amounts of either curcumin, rutin or quercetin on the amount of colorectal cells replaced and the speed of this process during the normal functions of the intestine. The study includes looking for and measuring the size and kind of any intestinal polyps that develop in the participants.

"Ideally, we would like to find the lowest, optimal dose of each of the three plant compounds that would safely inhibit the development of colorectal cancer," explains Shiff.

The study lasts for up to 10 weeks. During the first two weeks, participants eat a controlled diet so that initial information can be collected. In the following weeks, the investigators randomly assign the participants to continue on the initial diet alone or a diet supplemented with one of the plant phenolic compounds or sulindac, the NSAID. During this second phase, participants stay for an additional four or eight weeks.

For the study, the research team will recruit men and women aged 18 years and older who have a history of colon polyps. Participants may not smoke and should be healthy. People interested in enrolling as participants should call Dawn Stoddard, M.S., F.N.P., at 1-212-327-7458
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Contact: Marion E. Glick or Joseph Bonner
runews@rockvax.rockefeller.edu
212-327-7900
Rockefeller University
24-Sep-1997

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