The changing incidence and sites of colorectal cancer in the Israeli Arab population and their clinical implications

Abstract

Israeli Arabs have been at low risk for colorectal cancer (CRC) and had mainly proximal cancer, but increasing CRC is now noted. We examined this trend and CRC site and compared them to the total Jewish population and to the low-risk Jews of AsianAfrican origin. Israel Cancer Registry CRC data, 1982 Arabs and Jews was computed by gender, age and site: rectal cancer included recto-sigmoid junction; ''right-sided'' CRC included the proximal colon up to and also the splenic flexure.

A Review of the Incidence of Colorectal Cancer in the Middle East

“…A similar trend was seen in the west bank of Jordan River and Gaza Strip. At the same time in Arab Palestinians the incidence rate doubled in both genders (9,10). It should be noted that Israeli Jews were an exception in this region regarding the incidence of many chronic diseases, including CRC, which means the trend of incidence rate is mildly rising similar to western countries (11,12).…”

“…In Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Arab Palestinians, the decrease in the age of patients is associated with the increase in the number of lesions located in the Rt. Colon (9,11,27). To sum up, although the Middle East is generally a low risk region for CRC, the incidence rate of CRC is more in western parts, including countries located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, compared to eastern and southern parts.…”

A single nucleotide polymorphism in the human PIGK gene associates with low PIGK expression in colorectal cancer patients

“…Thus, we hypothesized that somatic mutation in the coding regions of PIGK might be associated with such low expression as shown for other genes in human cancers (15). Therefore, we examined the coding regions of the PIGK gene and corresponding protein expression in 45 CRC patients of both Jewish and Arabic ethnicity where CRC incidences are high, particularly among the Jewish population (2)(3)(4). No somatic mutations were detected in the coding regions of PIGK, but we discovered an SNP (rs1048575) located immediately after the stop codon at the 3' UTR in a majority of the CRC patients with a concomitant decrease in PIGK protein expression.…”

“…In the US, CRC is the fourth most common cancer in men and women (1) and approximately 3,000 new cases are diagnosed annually both in the Jewish male and female population (2)(3)(4). It is uncommon in the non-Jewish (Arab) population.…”

“…It is uncommon in the non-Jewish (Arab) population. This is attributed to different genetic susceptibility and/or lifestyle and diet (2)(3)(4). Gene mutation or genetic variations, whether it is at the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) or structural level, could also contribute to the development of CRC as shown in a number of Genome Wide Association (GWAS) and related studies (5)(6)(7)(8)(9).…”