COLORECTAL-CARCINOMA IN HONG-KONG - EPIDEMIOLOGY AND GENETIC MUTATIONS

The incidence of colorectal carcinoma is rising at an alarming pace in Asian urban societies such as Hong Kong. Detailed examination of the epidemiological pattern and genetic mutation of colorectal cancer in t he Hong Kong Chinese population is overdue. We compared the reported a ge incidence of colorectal carcinoma in Hong Kong with that of Scotlan d and other countries. Hong Kong showed a much higher incidence of col orectal carcinoma among the young age groups. By comparison with other countries, this raised incidence among the young appeared to be relat ed to southern Chinese societies. The recent dramatic rise in colorect al cancer in Hong Kong was largely attributable to an increase in the over 50 years age group, while the young incidence remained unchanged. We also defined the mutation spectrum of p53 and Ki-ras in 67 unselec ted cases by direct DNA sequencing. Interestingly, insertion/deletion mutations in p53 from colorectal carcinoma in Hong Kong showed a signi ficantly higher frequency (17.2%) than the Scottish data (0%) and the world database (6.6%), although the overall frequency of p53 mutation (43%) in Hong Kong was similar to others. The high incidence of colore ctal carcinoma in young people and the raised proportion of frameshift mutations in p53 encourage further search for a genetic basis for sus ceptibility to this disease in the Hong Kong Chinese population.