These observations, coupled with both in vitro and in vivo studies reported here, suggest anthocyanin-enriched sweet potato P40 may protect against colorectal cancer by inducing cell-cycle arrest, antiproliferative, and apoptotic mechanisms.
The coexpression of p63 and CK5 observed in this study could be related to divergent differentiation during the development of colorectal cancer, although further studies are warranted to refine the understanding of this process.