Skip to main content
PMC home page
British Journal of Cancer logoLink to British Journal of Cancer
. 1976 Aug;34(2):191–198. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1976.142

Faecal steroids and bacteria and large bowel cancer in Hong Kong by socio-economic groups.

J S Crowther, B S Drasar, M J Hill, R Maclennan, D Magnin, S Peach, C H Teoh-chan
PMCID: PMC2025151  PMID: 962996

Abstract

In a study of three socio-economic groups in Hong Kong, the high income group had a high faecal concentration of bile acids, especially the dihydroxy bile acids, compared to the low income group. The faecal bile acids were also more highly degraded. The faecal flora contained more bacteroides and fewer eubacteria. Very few of the clostridia able to dehydrogenate the steroid nucleus were isolated. An epidemiological study based on street blocks indicated that the high income group also have a higher incidence of cancer of the large bowel and of the breast. The results are discussed in terms of theories on the aetiology of large bowel cancer.

Full text

PDF
191

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Aries V., Crowther J. S., Drasar B. S., Hill M. J., Williams R. E. Bacteria and the aetiology of cancer of the large bowel. Gut. 1969 May;10(5):334–335. doi: 10.1136/gut.10.5.334. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Aries V., Hill M. J. Degradation of steroids by intestinal bacteria. II. Enzymes catalysing the oxidoreduction of the 3 alpha-, 7 alpha- and 12 alpha-hydroxyl groups in cholic acid, and the dehydroxylation of the 7-hydroxyl group. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1970 May 5;202(3):535–543. doi: 10.1016/0005-2760(70)90124-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Breslow N. E., Day N. E. Indirect standardization and multiplicative models for rates, with reference to the age adjustment of cancer incidence and relative frequency data. J Chronic Dis. 1975 Jun;28(5-6):289–303. doi: 10.1016/0021-9681(75)90010-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Crowther J. S. Transport and storage of faeces for bacteriological examination. J Appl Bacteriol. 1971 Jun;34(2):477–483. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2672.1971.tb02307.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Drasar B. S. Cultivation of anaerobic intestinal bacteria. J Pathol Bacteriol. 1967 Oct;94(2):417–427. doi: 10.1002/path.1700940223. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Drasar B. S., Goddard P., Heaton S., Peach S., West B. Clostridia isolated from faeces. J Med Microbiol. 1976 Feb;9(1):63–71. doi: 10.1099/00222615-9-1-63. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Fraumeni J. F., Jr, Mason T. J. Cancer mortality among Chinese Americans, 1950-69. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1974 Mar;52(3):659–665. doi: 10.1093/jnci/52.3.659. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Goddard P., Fernandez F., West B., Hill M. J., Barnes P. The nuclear dehydrogenation of steroids by intestinal bacteria. J Med Microbiol. 1975 Aug;8(3):429–435. doi: 10.1099/00222615-8-3-429. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Haenszel W., Correa P., Cuello C. Social class differences among patients with large-bowel cancer in Cali, Colombia. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1975 May;54(5):1031–1035. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Hill M. J., Aries V. C. Faecal steroid composition and its relationship to cancer of the large bowel. J Pathol. 1971 Jun;104(2):129–139. doi: 10.1002/path.1711040207. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Hill M. J., Drasar B. S., Williams R. E., Meade T. W., Cox A. G., Simpson J. E., Morson B. C. Faecal bile-acids and clostridia in patients with cancer of the large bowel. Lancet. 1975 Mar 8;1(7906):535–539. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(75)91556-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Hill M. J., Goddard P., Williams R. E. Gut bacteria and aetiology of cancer of the breast. Lancet. 1971 Aug 28;2(7722):472–473. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(71)92634-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Peach S., Fernandez F., Johnson K., Drasar B. S. The non-sporing anaerobic bacteria in human faeces. J Med Microbiol. 1974 May;7(2):213–221. doi: 10.1099/00222615-7-2-213. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Wynder E. L., Kajitani T., Ishikawa S., Dodo H., Takano A. Environmental factors of cancer of the colon and rectum. II. Japanese epidemiological data. Cancer. 1969 May;23(5):1210–1220. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(196905)23:5<1210::aid-cncr2820230530>3.0.co;2-m. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Cancer are provided here courtesy of Cancer Research UK

RESOURCES