Seventh-Day Adventist vegetarians have a quiescent proliferative activity in colonic mucosa

The proliferation of epithelial cells in colonic mucosa was studied in humans at varying degrees of risk for colon cancer. Seventh-Day Adventist vegetarians, known to have significantly lower mortality from colon cancer than the general U.S. population, had the most quiescent proliferative activity of mucosal epithelial cells. Increased replication and expansion of the proliferative compartment accompanied increased colon cancer risk. The analytical methods of this study may be useful in assessing the influence of dietary components involved in the initiation, promotion or inhibition of colon cancer, and in developing strategies for nutritional intervention.