Title:
Exfoliated Cells, Bioactive Food Components and Cancer Prevention (New PA)

Contact:

Cindy D. Davis, Ph.D.
Division of Cancer Prevention
National Cancer Institute
6130 Executive Blvd., EPN Room 3159, MSC 7328
Bethesda, MD 20892-7328
Rockville, MD 20852 (for express/courier service)
Telephone: 301-594-9692
FAX: 301-480-3925
Email: davisci@mail.nih.gov

Objective of Project:

The National Cancer Institute invites applications for new R01, R21, and R03 applications which promote research to critically evaluate the usefulness of exfoliated cells to assess dietary exposures to bioactive food components thought to be involved with cancer prevention. The overall objectives are to evaluate the ability of exfoliated cells to reflect absorption and retention of bioactive food components and genomic and epigenetic events that occur in intact cells following exposure to a bioactive food component. It is anticipated that the information gained will provide guidance for the development of dietary intervention strategies for cancer prevention. Interdisciplinary collaborations are encouraged.

Description of Project:

A wealth of evidence points to dietary habits as an important modifiable determinant of cancer risk and tumor behavior. A large number of bioactive components that are potentially protective at different stages of cancer formation. Although serum and blood cells have frequently been used to evaluate exposure and physiological response to bioactive food components, they may not always predict responses in target tissues. Surrogate samples, such as exfoliated cells may offer a noninvasive opportunity to evaluate not only exposure but also physiological response in target tissues. Evidence already exists that exfoliated colonocytes may provide useful information for evaluating the physiological effects of some food components that may be protective against cancer. However, much more research is needed to validate their utility across the various classes of bioactive food components. The hypothesis of this concept is that the analysis of biomarkers in exfoliated cells is preferable to the analysis of serum or blood cells and thus may represent an underutilized approach to evaluate the effect of bioactive food components in target tissues.