Last month research became available from Thomas Jefferson University in regards to colon cancer and the hormone guanylin. According to the research, Thomas Jefferson University studied tissue samples form 281 colon cancer patients. The tissue consisted of cancerous tissue from the colon and tissue surrounding the organ that was not cancerous. It was during the studying of the tissue samples that researchers realized that the cancerous tissue showed a diminished or absence of the hormone guanylin (University, 2014). In more than 85% of the colon cancer patients the hormone had decreased by 100 to 1,000 times its normal level. Researchers stained slices of tissue to check for the presence of guanylin, but the results were negative. Scott Walden, M.D, Ph.D., the senior author on the study, stated “The fact that the vast majority of cancers stop producing this hormone leads us to believe that guanylin may be driving the growth of the tumors” (University, 2014). He also stated that if the belief is true it would be possible to prevent colon cancer by using hormone replacement therapy that included guanylin. Dr. Waldman is Chair of the Department of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics and the Samuel MV Hamilton Professor at Thomas Jefferson University (University, 2014). In regards to determining how guanylin hormone therapy will affect colon cancer, the next step it to test whether is prevents colon cancer or inhibits the growth of tumors in mice. Human studies will follow. In the meantime the team is trying to discover more information on how guanylin functions in normal colon cells (University, 2014).
Source Material: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141010083733.htm
In order to understand how guanylin affects colon cancer, we must first look at what guanylin is and how it works. Guanylin is a hormone that is secreted by epithelial cells,