The K-ras mutations are frequently encountered among Iraqi sporadic CRC patients, with relative higher frequencies of G>T transversions and Gly>Val codon 12 substitutions than encountered in their counterparts in developed countries. The latter is most likely to be related to differences in local carcinogens exposure, an aspect which requires further scrutiny.

Among NHL, the high frequencies of DLBCL, extra nodal primaries and intestinal BL, and the infrequency of FL in northern Iraq, is similar to reports from nearby countries but differs considerably from the West and Far East, indicating a shared regional Middle East influence on non-Hodgkin lymphoma patterns. In contrast to earlier Iraqi and regional studies on HL, NS has surpassed MC as the most frequent histological subtype in Northern Iraq. This trend probably reflects the increasing urbanization that has taken place in this region.

We attempted to characterize biochemically glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase [G6PD] variants in Iraqi individuals. Thus 758 healthy Iraqi males aged 18-60 years were randomly selected and 46 [6.1%] were G6PD deficient. Although the predominant non-deficient G6PD phenotype was G6PD B [92.6%], G6PD A+ was found in polymorphic frequency [1.3%]. In the deficient group, 31 cases were fully characterized, including 17 cases with features consistent with G6PD Mediterranean variant, while 12 had other biochemical features and were labelled as non-Mediterranean variant. The remaining two deficient cases were characterized as G6PD A- variant. The presence of a significant number of non-Mediterranean variant was unexpected and may be related to the more heterogeneous background of the Iraqi people.