Familial occurrence of inflammatory bowel disease in Korea.

BACKGROUND: Little information is available about the familial aggregation of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Asian populations. We therefore determined the risk of familial aggregation of IBD among first-degree relatives of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn's disease (CD) in an ethnically distinct Korean population. METHODS: Familial aggregation of IBD was evaluated in terms of family history, prevalence, lifetime risk, and population relative risk in first-degree relatives of 1440 unrelated patients with UC (n = 1043) or CD (n = 397). RESULTS: A positive first-degree family history of IBD was observed in 27 probands (1.88%): 21 of 1043 (2.01%) with UC and 6 of 397 (1.51%) with CD. The crude prevalence of IBD in first-degree relatives of probands with IBD was 0.31%. The lifetime risk of IBD was 0.54% in all first-degree relatives of IBD probands, 0.52% in UC probands, and 0.67% in CD probands, with overall lifetime relative risks of 0.12% in parents, 0.79% in siblings, and 1.43% in offspring. The age- and sex-adjusted population relative risk of IBD was 13.8 in first-degree relatives of probands with IBD. CONCLUSIONS: Although a positive family history, prevalence, and lifetime risk of IBD among first-degree relatives of Korean IBD patients are much lower than among relatives of Western patients, the population relative risk in first-degree relatives is about equal in Koreans and Westerners. This finding indicates that a positive family history is an important risk factor for IBD in Koreans and in Westerners.

Depressed-type submucosal colon cancer: report of a case.

PURPOSE: The article presents one of very few Korean reports on the detection of depressed early colorectal cancers, which have been cited by some Japanese doctors as another pathway for the development of colon cancers. Depressed-type early colorectal cancers have mainly been reported in Japan, and recently a few have also been reported in Western countries. Depressed early colorectal cancers are still rarely detected in Korea, where most colorectal surgeons, endoscopists, and radiologists refer to Western guidelines. METHODS: Recently, the authors experienced a typical 12-mm depressed-type early colon cancer in the ascending colon of a 55-year-old Korean male patient. It was detected by a colonoscopic examination. RESULTS: The lesion was flexible on insufflation and deflation with air and was considered an early colon cancer. Because of the large size, a surgical resection was performed. The final pathologic result was a minimally invasive submucosal cancer without lymph node metastasis. CONCLUSION: This Korean case is one of very few reported abroad, so we think that it might make an important contribution to research on depressed-type early colorectal cancer.