[Colorectal carcinoma in Cronkhite-Canada syndrome]

We report a 63-year-old lady with Cronkhite-Canada syndrome, who developed colorectal cancer. A hemicolectomy was performed, and the tumor specimen was prepared for DNA-analysis and immunohistochemical screening. We found a mutation of p53 gene without APC- and ras-gene alteration and expression of erbB2-protooncogen. The polyps in non-hereditary Cronkhite-Canada-syndrom are neither adenomatous nor hyperplastic, but patients often develop colorectal cancers. The steps of mutation do not follow the adenoma-carcinoma sequence, first described by Vogelstein 1988. This and previous observations suggest that carcinogenesis in Cronkhite-Canada syndrome follows another independent sequence.