Apoptosis is reduced in the colonic mucosa of patients with acromegaly

Summary Background Patients with acromegaly have an increased risk of developing colonic tumours; reduced apoptosis is considered a leading mechanism in tumorigenesis. GH and IGF‐1 decrease apoptosis in several cell lines including human colonic adenocarcinoma, but it is unknown whether epithelial cells of colonic mucosa of patients with acromegaly have reduced apoptosis. Aim The aim of the study was to evaluate the degree of apoptosis in a cross‐sectional study, in biopsy samples of colonic mucosa obtained from patients with acromegaly. Patients and methods Eleven patients with active, untreated acromegaly (AcroUntr), 16 patients with acromegaly in remission (AcroRem) and 23 controls were enrolled in the study. Samples of colonic mucosa were obtained during colonoscopy; apoptosis was evaluated by either DNA fragmentation or terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase assay. Results Apoptotic cells were 60·0 ± 2·5% in samples of colonic mucosa of controls, 62·0 ± 3·4% in those from patients with AcroRem (P = ns vs. controls), and 39·0 ± 4·1% in those from patients with AcroUntr (P