Detection of aberrant crypt foci by magnifying colonoscopy

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Aberrant crypt foci (ACF), first described by Bird et al., 1 Bird RP Observation and quantification of aberrant crypts in the murine colon treated with a colon carcinogen: preliminary findings. Cancer Lett. 1987; 37: 147-151 Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (991) Google Scholar have been considered an early event in colorectal carcinogenesis because they are associated with a carcinogen-induced model of colorectal tumorigenesis in rodents 1 Bird RP Observation and quantification of aberrant crypts in the murine colon treated with a colon carcinogen: preliminary findings. Cancer Lett. 1987; 37: 147-151 Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (991) Google Scholar , 2 McLellan EA Bird RP Aberrant crypts: potential preneoplastic lesions in the murine colon. Cancer Res. 1988; 48: 6187-6192 PubMed Google Scholar , 3 McLellan EA Medline A Bird RP Dose response and proliferative characteristics of aberrant crypt foci: putative preneoplastic lesions in rat colon. Carcinogenesis. 1991; 12: 2093-2098 Crossref PubMed Scopus (128) Google Scholar , 4 Sandforth F Heimpel S Balzer T Gutschmidt S Riecken EO Characterization of stereomicroscopically identified preneoplastic lesions during dimethylhydrazine-induced colonic carcinogenesis. Eur J Clin Invest. 1988; 18: 655-662 Crossref PubMed Scopus (50) Google Scholar and are present at a greater frequency in the colons of patients with familial adenomatous polyposis or sporadic colorectal cancer than in patients with benign colonic diseases. 5 Roncucci L Stamp D Medline A Cullen JB Bruce WR Identification and quantification of aberrant crypt foci and microadenomas in the human colon. Hum Pathol. 1991; 22: 287-294 Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (304) Google Scholar , 6 Pretlow TP Barrow BJ Ashton WS O'Riordan MA Pretlow TG Jurcisek JA et al. Aberrant crypts: putative preneoplastic foci in human colonic mucosa. Cancer Res. 1991; 51: 1564-1567 PubMed Google Scholar These foci consist of abnormally large, darkly stained, slightly bulged mucosal crypts. 1 Bird RP Observation and quantification of aberrant crypts in the murine colon treated with a colon carcinogen: preliminary findings. Cancer Lett. 1987; 37: 147-151 Abstract Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (991) Google Scholar Histopathologically, they resemble the minute (microscopic) adenomatous polyps that have been studied extensively in familial adenomatous polyposis 7 Lane N Lev R Observation on the origin of adenomatous epithelium of the colon: serial section studies of minute polyps in familial polyposis. Cancer. 1963; 16: 751-764 Crossref PubMed Scopus (83) Google Scholar , 8 Bussey HJR Pathology of familial polyposis coli. in: Familial polyposis coli: family studies, histopathology, differential diagnosis, and results of treatment. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland1975: 18-46 Google Scholar but have been observed only rarely in the mucosa of other patients. 9 Woda BA Forde K Lane N. A unicryptal colonic adenoma, the smallest colonic neoplasm yet observed in a non-polyposis individual. Am J Clin Pathol. 1977; 68: 631-632 PubMed Google Scholar , 10 Oohara T Ogino A Saji K Tohma H Studies on the difference of background mucosa among single advanced carcinoma and benign diseases of the large intestine, and familial polyposis coli. Cancer. 1980; 45: 1637-1645 Crossref PubMed Scopus (26) Google Scholar Furthermore, a recent study 11 Pretlow TP Brasitus TA Fulton NC Cheyer C Kaplan EL. K-ras mutations in putative preneoplastic lesions in human colon. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1993; 85: 2004-2007 Crossref PubMed Scopus (218) Google Scholar suggested that ACF arise as a result of clonal genetic alterations. However, until now, these studies were investigated only in specimens taken from animals or surgically resected colons from patients with colorectal neoplasms.