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Opium Consumption and the Incidence of Cancer: Does Opium Account as an Emerging Risk Factor for Gastrointestinal Cancer?

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An Author Correction to this article was published on 22 March 2018

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Abstract

Purpose

Some epidemiological studies have shown an association between opium consumption and the incidence of gastrointestinal (GI) cancer. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of opium on the initiation of GI cancer in rats.

Methods

Forty-five rats were randomly divided into three groups; each received different treatment for 40 weeks. The rats in group 1 received purified water, while animals in group 2 were treated with 5 mg/kg diethylnitrosamine (DEN) orally for 8 weeks and continued with purified water by the end of the experiment. The third experimental group received 300 mg/kg opium for 16 weeks and then continued with 50 mg/kg phenobarbital by the end of the 40th week. The growth of tumors in the treated groups was assessed by histological changes and the up/down expression of p53, cdkn1, cdk2, e-cdh, and n-cdh genes in different parts of GI tract.

Results

Histological examinations revealed that DEN was able to induce the growth of tumor in GI tract as shown by active mitotic figure in different regions of GI system and hyperplasia of hepatocytes associated with infiltration of inflammatory cells, intestinal villous hypertrophy, and colorectal adenoma. There was also significant (p < 0.05) overexpression of p53, cdk2, and n-Cdh genes in different parts of digestive system in DEN-treated group. However, these pathological changes and the degradation of gene expression were not observed in the opium-treated group.

Conclusion

The results of this study suggest that the opium does not promote the initiation of cancer in GI tract.

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Change history

  • 22 March 2018

    The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake in the author group section. The correct name of the fourth author is “Reza Shirkoohi.”The original article has been corrected.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Iraq and the University of Tehran for funding this study. Special thanks to Dr. Hossein Golami and Dr. Hassan Khalaf Al-Qaraghouli for preparation of some pathological pictures of tissues.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

    Mohammed Azeez Alzaidi & Hossein Ali Arab

  2. Cancer Biology Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Saeid Amanpour, Reza Shirkoohi & Samad Muhammadnejad

  3. Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

    Farhang Sasani

Authors
  1. Mohammed Azeez Alzaidi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hossein Ali Arab.

Ethics declarations

The experimental protocol has been approved by the institutional Animal care and use Committee.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

The original version of this article was revised: The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake in the author group section. The correct name of the fourth author is “Reza Shirkoohi.”

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Alzaidi, M.A., Arab, H.A., Amanpour, S. et al. Opium Consumption and the Incidence of Cancer: Does Opium Account as an Emerging Risk Factor for Gastrointestinal Cancer?. J Gastrointest Canc 49, 172–180 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12029-017-0050-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12029-017-0050-7

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