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©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Feb 28, 2015; 21(8): 2374-2380
Published online Feb 28, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i8.2374
Published online Feb 28, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i8.2374
Retrospective study of colorectal cancer in Zimbabwe: Colonoscopic and clinical correlates
Leolin Katsidzira, Innocent Tichaona Gangaidzo, Jonathan Arthur Matenga, Department of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare 00263, Zimbabwe
Munyaradzi Paul Mapingure, Research Support Centre, College of Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare 00263, Zimbabwe
Author contributions: Katsidzira L was involved in study conception and design, data collection, analysis and interpretation and in writing the manuscript; Gangaidzo IT performed all the endoscopic procedures and was involved in study conception and design, data collection and interpretation, and in drafting, critical review and final approval of the manuscript; Mapingure MP was involved in data analysis and critical revision of the manuscript; Matenga JA was involved in study conception and design, critical revision of the manuscript and final approval of the article.
Supported by Grants from Wellcome Trust through the Southern African Consortium on Research Excellence.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Dr. Leolin Katsidzira, Department of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, PO Box A178, Avondale, Harare 00263, Zimbabwe. lkatsidzira@hotmail.com
Telephone: +263-4-731000 Fax: +263-4-251017
Received: August 3, 2014
Peer-review started: August 3, 2014
First decision: August 27, 2014
Revised: September 25, 2014
Accepted: December 1, 2014
Article in press: December 1, 2014
Published online: February 28, 2015
Peer-review started: August 3, 2014
First decision: August 27, 2014
Revised: September 25, 2014
Accepted: December 1, 2014
Article in press: December 1, 2014
Published online: February 28, 2015
Core Tip
Core tip: Colorectal cancer is traditionally regarded as rare in Africa. Consequently, the index of suspicion among medical practitioners is low, potentially resulting in delayed or missed diagnoses. This article demonstrates that colorectal cancer is as frequent a finding in Africans presenting for colonoscopy in Zimbabwe as it is among Caucasians. These African patients are often younger, implying that investigations for colorectal cancer among should be instituted in all patients in the right clinical context regardless of age. The decision to investigate should not be influenced by ethnicity or age in this population.