Klin Onkol 1999; 12(2): 51-55.
Summary : Lipids and namely polyunsatured fatty acids (PUFAs) and their metabolites – eicosanoids – belong to the important epigenetic factors involved in promotion of colorectal malignancies. It is evident that these effects depend both on types of PUFAs and their concentration. As the main mechanisms of their action, we can consider 1) direct influencing of transcription factor activity affecting the expression of genes involved in regulation of cytokinetics, 2) production of eicosanoids acting above
all in the cytokine signal transduction and in the immune system, and 3) effects of reactive oxygen species generated during lipid peroxidation. It should be stressed that the balance between the availibility of precursor PUFAs and the production of the their individual metabolites is also significant. Of particular importance from the clinical point of view is the possibility to precede undesirable effects of PUFAs by food composition and to modulate their effects using nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs and/or antioxidants.
