| Summary: | A cancerized field is an area of abnormal tissue in the vicinity of a cancer but appearing to be macroscopically normal. Identification of these has important clinical implications as abnormal tissues could be left in situ following polypectomy or surgical resection, leading to neoplastic recurrence in the same area. Up to 60% of patients develop metachronous adenomas following adenoma excision, the observed high rate of metachronous adenoma formation could be due to field changes analogous to cancerized fields around an adenoma. Keratins are important regulators of colonocyte physiology and their regulatory role is, in part, influenced by post-translational modifications and butyrate exposure. Butyrate has been shown to have a protective effect in the colon to prevent colorectal carcinoma. Alterations in keratin levels have been shown between the cancerized field and normal tissue. The investigation of keratins as a marker for a cancerized field and how they are influenced by butyrate may provide clues in the prevention of and treatment of adenomagenesis and the early stages of carcinogenesis. This thesis examines the involvement of keratins in adenoma fields and their response to butyrate exposure; the available evidence for these associations is reviewed.
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