MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Darren D. Browning, PhD | Professor Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University Georgia Cancer Center, Augusta, Georgia 30912-2100 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Cancer of the colon and rectum is one of the most commonly diagnosed and has a high mortality because it is often identified at an advanced stage. In the United States the average overall risk of having to deal with this disease at some point is around one in twenty-five, but the risk is much higher for people who have previously had polyps removed or if a close relative was diagnosed with colon cancer. The risk is even higher for patients with inflammatory bowel disease or heritable disorders such as familial adenomatous polyposis and lynch syndrome. While chemoprevention is clearly warranted, there are currently no drugs available that can reduce the risk for those predisposed to colorectal cancer. Previous work from our laboratory has shown that drugs like sildenafil that inhibit phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5), have a profound effect on the epithelial lining of the intestine. Our recent work has shown that these drugs can prevent intestinal cancers in two different mouse models of human disease. While this class of drugs is best known for treating erectile dysfunction, due to a low side-effect profile they are also prescribed for long-term daily use to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and benign prostate hyperplasia (more…)