Fecal neutral steroids in two Japanese populations with different colon cancer risks.

Several workers have associated fecal neutral steroids with colon cancer frequency. They suggested that the risk for colon cancer increases with a rise in the level of total and certain neutral steroids. The Japanese in Hawaii, who are at high risk for this cancer, had a higher concentration of cholesterol and total animal steroids in their fecal specimens than did the people in Akita, Japan, who are at low risk. However, the rest of the findings on neutral steroids were unremarkable or inconsistent in comparison with those of other studies. These data are suggestive but not strongly supportive of a relationship between fecal neutral steroid patterns and colon cancer risk.