[Is serum homocysteine level elevated in colorectal tumor?].

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Although it has been known that folate will participate in colorectal carcinogenesis, the relationship between blood folate level and colorectal cancer is less consistent. The blood folate level does not reflect the systemic folate status. By contrast, serum homocysteine has become a sensitive marker for the folate deficiency. We attempted to explain the correlation between folate and colorectal cancer according to the serum homocysteine level. METHODS: We reviewed the clinical records, including alcohol history of 184 patients taking the colonoscopy and measurement of the serum homocysteine level at Health Promotion Center from 2001 to 2002. One hundred fifty-one of 184 were included, excluding 33 patients with previous history of colonic polyp, cerebrovascular, cardiovascular attack and thromboembolism. They were divided into the normal control (n=111) and the adenomatous polyp group (n=40). We had selected the colorectal cancer group (n=50) from the collection list of the tissue and blood bank less than 3 months storage interval. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the mean serum homocysteine level among three groups. However, in the subjects with high alcohol consumption, there was a significant difference in the mean serum homocysteine between the normal control (n=7) and the adenomatous polyp group (n=9) (10.2 vs 15.1 mumol/L, p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: There was no correlation of serum homocysteine and colorectal tumor. However, in the subjects with high alcohol consumption, high serum homocysteine might be related to the development of adenomatous polyp.

[Clinical features of surgically resected focal nodular hyperplasia of the liver].

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) is a benign hepatic tumor with few serious complications and no malignant transformation. However, differential diagnosis between FNH and other liver tumors, especially hepatocellular carcinoma, is often difficult. METHODS: Clinical features of surgically resected FNH were reviewed. From January, 1995 to February, 2003, 10 patients with surgically resected FNH were enrolled. Their age, sex, results of laboratory examination, imaging studies and pathologic findings were evaluated. RESULTS: Median age was 37.5 years and sex ratio (male:female) was 1.5:1. In 5 cases, resection to exclude hepatic adenoma or HCC was performed. Four cases were diagnosed incidentally after surgery. Four patients had risk factors for HCC, such as hepatitis B virus infection, liver cirrhosis or both. The size of FNH was 3.2 +/- 2.2 cm. The most common site of the tumor was segment 6 (30.0%). Differential diagnosis with HCC was difficult in 5 of six cases in whom CT was performed. Although needle biopsies were performed preoperatively in 4 cases, it was difficult to distinguish FNH from hepatic adenoma or HCC. CONCLUSIONS: FNH was resected due to uncertainty of diagnosis, or incidentally during hepatectomy in patients with other liver disease. In the former, differential diagnosis with hepatic adenoma or HCC was a major problem despite extensive work-up including dynamic CT or biopsy.