Increased Prevalence of Colorectal Neoplasia in Korean Patients with Sporadic Duodenal Adenomas: A Case-Control Study

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Recent data from Western populations have suggested that patients with sporadic duodenal adenomas are at a higher risk for the development of colorectal neoplasia. In this study, we compared the frequency of colorectal neoplasia in patients with sporadic duodenal adenomas to healthy control subjects. METHODS: This retrospective case-control study used the databases of 3 teaching hospitals in Gyeonggi-do Province, South Korea. The colonoscopy findings of patients with sporadic duodenal adenomas were compared with those of age- and gender-matched healthy individuals who had undergone gastroduodenoscopies and colonoscopies during general screening examinations. RESULTS: Between 2001 and 2008, 45 patients were diagnosed endoscopically with sporadic duodenal adenomas; 26 (58%) of these patients received colonoscopies. Colorectal neoplasia (42% vs 21%; odds ratio [OR], 2.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1 to 7.4) and advanced colorectal adenoma (19% vs 3%; OR, 9.0; 95% CI, 1.6 to 50.0) were significantly more common in patients with sporadic duodenal adenomas than in healthy control subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with healthy individuals, patients with sporadic duodenal adenomas were at a significantly higher risk for developing colorectal neoplasia. Such at-risk patients should undergo routine screening colonoscopies.