Fecal Phenols in Patients with Colo-Rectal Carcinoma

Abstract

To investigate possible carcinogenesis of phenols, fecal phenols were measured in patients with colo-rectal carcinoma using gas chromatography and bacterial productive pathway of phenols was studied. Fecal phenol was detected in 11 out of 30 patients with rectal carcinoma and fecal p-cresol was detected in 8 out of 8 in colonic carcinoma, 28 out of 30 in rectal carcinoma. Detection rate was significantly high compared to healthy controls (p<0.01). Fecal concentration of p-cresol was 150±170 micro gm/gm in colonic carcinoma, 170±190 micro gm/gm in rectal carcinoma (40±50 micro gm/gm in healthy controls) and that of phenol was 10±20 micro gm/gm in rectal carcinoma (not detected in healthy controls). And there were no statistical significance between patients with colo-rectal carcinoma and healthy controls.
In the study of bacterial productive pathway of phenols, phenol was produced by aerobes, such as Enterobacteriaceae, Streptococcus but p-cresol was produced mainly by anaerobes such as Bacteroidaceae. Among phenols, p-cresol might be related as one of carcinogenetic substances in colo-rectal carcinoma.