Colorectal cancer initiation site

The role of stem cells in solid tumors remains controversial. In colorectal cancers (CRC), this is complicated by the conflicting top-down or bottom-up hypothesis of cancer initiation. We profiled the expressions of genes from the top (T) and bottom (B) fractions of the crypt in morphologically normal-appearing colonic mucosa (M) and contrasted this to that of matched mucosa adjacent 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 of significant genes diverge further in the top fractions (B<T). In the remaining ten patients, the reverse is observed (B>T).

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Hong Y, Liew SC, Thean LF, Tang CL, Cheah PY