Medicinal Plants Classification Biosynthesis and ... - Index of

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Rosa Martha Perez Gutierrez, Adriana Maria Neira Gonzalez et al.
and the systemic inflammatory response are associated with lower carotenoids concentrations
(Talwar et al., 1997).
It is therefore of interest that patients with prostate cancer have been reported to have low
lycopene and β-carotene and increased oxidation of serum lipids and proteins. Indeed,
patients with prostate cancer fed lycopene enriched supplement prior to prostatectomy appear
to show reduced oxidative stress and tumor growth. However, a proportion of patients with
prostate cancer will have evidence of a systemic inflammatory response, and its effect on
carotenoids concentrations is not clear (Rao et al., 1999).
Almushataf et al., (2006) observed that in patients with benign prostate hyperplasia
(BPH) were older had higher malondialdehyde concentrations and lower circulating
concentrations of lutein, lycopene and β-carotene. Patients with metastatic prostate cancer
had a higher Gleason score, but lower concentrations of �-tocopherol, retinol, lutein, βcarotene
and lycopene.
Colon Cancer
Colorectal cancer remains the second commonest cause of cancer deaths in Western
Europe and North America. Each year in the United Kingdom, there are ~ 35,000 new cases
and 16,000 deaths attributable to the disease (Cancer Research, 2006). Overall survival is
poor; even in those patients who undergo potentially curative resection, more than one-third
die within 5 years (McArdle and Hole, 2002). It is increasingly recognized that variations in
outcome in cancer patients are not solely determined by the characteristics of the tumor but
also by host-immune response factors (MacDonald, 2007). It is now accepted that the host
systemic inflammatory response can be assessed by examining the changes in the circulating
concentrations of acute-phase proteins, such as an elevated concentration of C-reactive
protein and a low concentrations of albumin and that these have prognostic values in patients
with cancer (McMillan et al., 2000). Recently, the combination of C-reactive protein and
albumin, known as the Glasgow prognostic score (GPS), has been validated as a prognostic
factor in patients with colorectal cancer (McMillan et al., 2007).
The tumor growth and progression and the systemic inflammatory response have the
potential to produce free radicals and thus increase oxidative stress. Indeed, both the presence
and progression of cancer (Rasheed et al., 2007) and the systemic inflammatory response
(Talwar et al., 1997) are associated with lower carotenoid concentrations. However, to date
the majority of studies have only included relatively small number of cancer patients
(Thurnham et al., 1986).
Colon cancer and its occurrence is commonly ascribed to the transformation of normal
colon epithelium to adenomatous polyps and ultimately invasive cancer (Parker, 1996).
According to the model proposed by Fearon and Vogelstein, cancer develops as a
consequence of genetic alterations which accumulate over one or two decades (Fearon and
Vogelstein, 1990). Experimental and epidemiological data have linked dietary composition
with colorectal carcinogenesis. In particular, evidence from recent epidemiological studies
has shown that a high dietary intake of fruit and vegetables, rich in β-carotene and other