Faecal bile acid profiles in patients with large bowel cancer in Japan

Abstract

To study the possible role of bile acids in carcinogenesis of the large bowel faecal bile acid profiles were analysed in detail in 14 patients with large bowel cancer and compared with 14 matched healthy subjects. The total faecal bile acid excretion was lower in the patients (297.3 ± 402.8 μmol/day) than in the healthy subjects (470.6 ± 231.1 μmol/day) (p < 0.01), although the difference became insignificant when these data were expressed as μmol per wet or dry faecal weight. The faecal profiles of individual bile acids and their conjugates were similar in both groups except that 5β-chol-3-en-24-oic acid, a bacterial metabolite of sulpholithocholic acid, was found in nine cancer patients (64%) compared with only two healthy subjects (14%) (p < 0.01). The significance of 5β-chol-3-en-24-oic acid in carcinogenesis needs further prospective and experimental studies.