Dietary fat, adipose tissue composition, and the development of carcinoma of the colon.

Dietary fat and plasma lipids have been implicated in the development of carcinoma of the colon. Because of the difficulties in obtaining accurate dietary histories, subcutaneous adipose tissue fatty acids were analyzed to compare fat intake in 3 groups of patients undergoing colonoscopy: patients with carcinoma of the colon (n = 53; average age, 64 yr; 47% male), patients with neoplastic polyps (n = 34; age 63 yr; 71% male), and patients with normal findings (controls; n = 68; age 58 yr; 40% male). The groups were similar with regard to body mass index and coffee and egg consumption. One-way analysis of variance of the plasma total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, 9 adipose fatty acids, groups of polyunsaturated fatty acids (vegetable origin), saturated fatty acids (animal origin), or the ratio of polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acids did not show any significant differences across the 3 groups. The quality of dietary fat does not appear to be associated with the development of carcinoma of the colon or of neoplastic polyps in this population.