Colorectal cancer is one of the most common malignancies in the United States and Europe. In the United States, approximately 131,000 new cases of colon cancer occur annually, of which 57,000 will lead to death. Recently, the incidence of colorectal cancer has been increasing markedly in Korea. Most of colorectal cancers follow typical adenoma-carcinoma sequences, therefore it is meanwhile epidemiologic and clinical study for colon polyps, because removal of colon polyps can significantly reduce the mortality from colorectal cancers. There were few epidemiologic data about colonic polyps in Korea. Therefore, it would be needed prospective multicenter study to find clinical characteristics of colon polyp in Korea. Here, we present preliminary data about clinical, endoscopic, and histological aspects of colon polyps in Korea and review perspectives. (Intestinal Research 2003;1:19-21)
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