Clinicopathologic and DNA Methylation Status of CRC in Bangladesh

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer in the world and the second leading cause of cancer related deaths in the United States. Globally, the incidence of CRC varies widely. The lifetime risk of developing CRC is about 6% or one in 18. CRC is relatively uncommon in Indian sub continent. The incidence of colorectal cancer in Bangladesh is not exactly known, it appears to be common and occur in younger age group with slight male preponderence. Average age at diagnosis is 10 years less than the developed countries. Epigenetic changes, which is the heritable changes in gene function that are not due to changes in the DNA sequence is an important pathway in the mechanism of tumerogenesis in colorectal cancer. DNA methylation abnormalities is an important epigenetic changes in CRC and become an area of great interest in the field of cancer research. There is both hypermethylation and hypomethylation abnomalities in various genetic loci in CRC. Correlation of histopathological features with clinical data and detection of DNA Methylation abnormalities can give better insight in this field.