People with inflammatory bowel disease [ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD)] have a high colon cancer risk. Conventional treatment of colitis can reduce periods of active disease and maintain remission, but treatment outcomes are often marginal;patients become refractory;and there are dangerous side effects. Thus, complementary and alternative treatments remain promising for abating symptoms of active disease. An estimated 40% of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients use some form of megavitamin therapy or herbal/dietary supplement. Resveratrol (3,4',5-Trihydroxy-trans-stilbene) is a naturally occurring polyphenol that exhibits pleiotropic health beneficial effects including anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective and anti-cancer activities. It is quickly being recognized as one of the more promising natural molecules in the prevention and treatment of cancer. We and one other group have demonstrated that oral administration of resveratrol alleviates colitis in animals. These studies have provided the first proof-of-principle demonstration that resveratrol may be effective in the treatment of IBD, and we now hypothesize that this will prevent the subsequent development of colon cancer. These studies should provide important new data that will determine if this natural compound provides a new and safe approach that will be useful in preventing the development of colon cancer.

Public Health Relevance

Inflammatory bowel disease is a high colon cancer, chronic inflammatory disease that affects >4 million people worldwide. Resveratrol is emerging as a key chemopreventive compound, and is a potent anti-inflammatory against colitis in animals. Funding toward this project will play a key role in determining whether resveratrol has the potential to prevent colitis and colon cancer associated with colitis.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Small Research Grants (R03)
Project #
5R03CA141758-02
Application #
7876998
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZCA1-SRLB-F (M1))
Program Officer
Emenaker, Nancy J
Project Start
2009-07-01
Project End
2011-06-30
Budget Start
2010-07-01
Budget End
2011-06-30
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2010
Total Cost
$72,000
Indirect Cost
Name
University of South Carolina at Columbia
Department
Pharmacology
Type
Schools of Pharmacy
DUNS #
041387846
City
Columbia
State
SC
Country
United States
Zip Code
29208
Cui, Xiangli; Jin, Yu; Hofseth, Anne B et al. (2010) Resveratrol suppresses colitis and colon cancer associated with colitis. Cancer Prev Res (Phila) 3:549-59
Hofseth, Lorne J; Singh, Udai P; Singh, Narendra P et al. (2010) Taming the beast within: resveratrol suppresses colitis and prevents colon cancer. Aging (Albany NY) 2:183-4