Colon cancer cells. Light micrograph of a section through human colon cancer cells, showing the cell nuclei (red) and the protein E-cadherin (green). Colon cancer is one of the most common cancers in North America and Western Europe. It is thought to be connected to a diet high in fat and low in fibre. E-cadherin is a cell adhesion molecule and its loss signals a process known as the epithelial-mesenchymal transition in which cells acquire the ability to migrate and become invasive.