Investigation on the hereditary basis of colorectal cancers in an African population with frequent early onset cases.

Background: Approximately 25% of colorectal cancer patients in sub-Saharan Africa are younger than 40 years, and hereditary factors may contribute. We investigated the frequency and patterns of inherited colorectal cancer among black Zimbabweans.

Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study of ninety individuals with a new diagnosis of colorectal cancer was carried out in Harare, Zimbabwe between November 2012 and December 2015.

Association of genetic variants in CHEK2 with oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma in the South African Black population.

Oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has a high incidence in southern Africa and a poor prognosis. Limited information is available on the contribution of genetic variants in susceptibility to OSCC in this region. However, recent genome-wide association studies have identified multiple susceptibility loci in Asian and European populations.

Tuberculous anal fistulas--prevalence and clinical features in an endemic area.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) in anal fistulas at a referral hospital in Cape Town, and to document the clinical features and course of patients with tuberculous anal fistulas.

Patients And Methods: This was a prospective study of all patients who underwent surgery for anal fistulas at the Colorectal Surgery Unit at Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, from 2004 to 2006. Tissue was submitted for histopathological examination, Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) staining and TB culture.

The extracolonic cancer spectrum in females with the common 'South African' hMLH1 c.C1528T mutation.

Hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) is an autosomal dominant disease, characterized by the occurrence of predominantly colon and endometrial cancer and, less frequently, cancer of the small bowel, stomach, hepatobiliary tract, ureter, renal pelvis, ovaries and brain. The phenotypic diversity may partially be explained by allelic heterogeneity. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of extracolonic cancers in a cohort of females sharing the same c.