Abstract
THE production of cancer by bile acids is a topic of far-reaching interest, because of the natural occurrence and biosynthesis of these substances in the body and of their molecular structure, which places them in the biologically essential family of steroids. In view of this, the two main bile acids, namely, cholic acid and deoxycholic acid, have often been tested for carcinogenicity, but results have so far been either negative or controversial. Thus, while both Ghiron1, and Cook et al. 2, were able to produce sarcomas in mice by subcutaneous injection of deoxycholic acid, Shear et al. recorded negative results with both cholic and deoxycholic acid and attributed the sarcomas described in the literature to the possible influence of the solvent used3; more recently, Klein also reported negative results using the intramuscular route4. It was, therefore, evident that if these acids were carcinogenic, their activity was weak in degree and not constantly reproducible.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ghiron, V., Proc. Third Internat. Cancer Congress, 116 (1939).
Cook, J. W., Kennaway, E. L., and Kennaway, N. M., Nature, 145, 627 (1940). Badger, G. M., Cook, J. W., Hewett, C. L., Kennaway, E. L., Kennaway, N. M., Martin, R. H., and Robinson, A. M., Proc. Roy. Soc., B, 139, 439 (1940).
Shear, M. J., Amer. J. Cancer, 33, 499 (1938). Shear, M. J., Leiter, J., and Perrault, A., J. Nat. Cancer Inst., 2, 99 (1941).
Klein, M., J. Nat. Cancer Inst., 13, 333 (1952).
Fieser, L. F., and Fieser, M., Natural Products related to Phenanthrene, third ed., 115 (Reinhold Pub. Corp., New York, 1949).
Lacassagne, A., C.R. Soc. Biol., 132, 365 (1939). Lacassagne, A., and Raynaud, A., ibid., 132, 431 (1939).
Buu-Hoï, N. P., Acta Unio Internat. Contra Cancrum, 7, 68 (1950).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
LACASSAGNE, A., BUU-HOÏ, N. & ZAJDELA, F. Carcinogenic Activity of Apocholic Acid. Nature 190, 1007–1008 (1961). https://doi.org/10.1038/1901007a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1901007a0
- Springer Nature Limited
This article is cited by
-
Experimental models of colorectal cancer
Diseases of the Colon & Rectum (1998)
-
Epidemiology of cancer of the colon and rectum
Diseases of the Colon & Rectum (1993)
-
Relative risk of colorectal cancer after cholecystectomy
International Journal of Colorectal Disease (1988)
-
Amounts of intestinal microflorae in relation to colon carcinogenesis. An experimental study
Gastroenterologia Japonica (1980)
-
Colon cancer
The American Journal of Digestive Diseases (1976)