Differences in K-ras and mitochondrial DNA mutations and microsatellite instability between colorectal cancers of Vietnamese and Japanese patients.

Background: The incidence of early-onset (under 50 years of age) colorectal cancer (CRC) in the Vietnamese has been reported to be quite higher than that in the Japanese. To clarify the differences in genetic alterations between Vietnamese and Japanese CRCs, we investigated mutations in K-ras and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and high-frequency microsatellite instability (MSI-H) in the CRCs of Vietnamese and Japanese patients.

Methods: We enrolled 60 Vietnamese and 233 Japanese patients with invasive CRCs.