Short communication: Amino acid profiles among colorectal cancer patients

The aim of this study is to determine the amino acid profile among the colorectal cancer patients. This is a prospective descriptive case-control study. This study includes 108 patients who underwent surgeries for colorectal carcinoma and 108 healthy control subjects during the period from1998 to 2003. The patients’ data included: age, gender, pathological data and p53 expression. We performed the avidin-biotin complex immunoperoxidase method to de-tect bound p53 protein. An analysis with the Ion Exchange Chromatography was carried out for individual free amino acids. IgG antibodies against a low molecular weight fraction of H. pylori antigens were measured in duplicate with a validated in house indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA]. Mean annual incidence was 3.1 patients / year. There were 74 males (68.5%) and 34 females (31.5%). The mean age at the time of diagnosis was 47.2 ± 9.7 years with the median age of 47 years. H. pylori serology was determined in all subjects. The sensitivity values for IgG and IgA H .pylori serology tests were 74% and 51% respectively (p<0.001). There was statistically significant difference between cancer patients and healthy control group concerning IgG (p<0.018). The study results revealed that the plasma amino acid concentrations (essential and non-essential amino acids) were higher among cancer patients than among the healthy control subjects. The incidence pattern of colorectal carcinoma is similar to that of the neighboring Gulf and Arab countries. The results revealed that the plasma amino acid concentrations were higher among colorectal cancer patients than among the control subjects.