Recent evidence suggests that both NOX1 and DUOX2 species produce ROS in the gastrointestinal tract as a result of chronic inflammatory stress; cytokine induction (by interferon-γ, tumour necrosis factor α, and interleukins IL-4 and IL-13) of NOX1 and DUOX2 may contribute to the development of colorectal and pancreatic carcinomas in patients with inflammatory bowel disease and chronic pancreatitis, respectively.
Immunohistochemical examination showed high expression of ALKBH8 and NOX-1 proteins in high-grade, superficially and deeply invasive carcinomas (pT(1) and >pT(2)) as well as in carcinoma in situ, but not in low-grade and noninvasive phenotypes (pT(a)).
In contrast, Nox1 and its partner proteins were expressed in intestinal-type adenocarcinomas (19/21 cases), diffuse-type adenocarcinomas (15/15 cases), and signet-ring cell carcinomas (9/9 cases).