In this prospective study, we examined stool specimens from children with cancer receiving chemotherapy who were admitted for fever to the Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital in Kota Baru, Kelantan. Stool specimens were examined for ova and cysts of parasites. Over a period of 15 months, there were 129 febrile episodes in 50 children with cancer and, in all, 237 stool specimens were examined. Sixty-six per cent of febrile episodes were associated with neutropenia and 9 per cent were associated with diarrhoea. Stool parasites were found in 42 per cent of children. The most common were helminths, followed by protozoa. Trichuris trichiura was the most common parasite (24 per cent), followed by Ascaris lumbricoides (22 per cent). Hookworm was found in 2 per cent. Giardia lamblia was found in 6 per cent of children, Blastocystis hominis in 4 per cent, and Cryptosporidium parvum in 2 per cent.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the most common gastrointestinal malignancy and is a significant cause of mortality. Its incidence is generally increasing in Asia. Reports from the West have indicated that the incidence of rectal cancer is increasing in the younger population. This study assessed the time trend of CRC in Brunei Darussalam specifically assessing the different age groups at which the incidences start to increase. Materials and Methods: The National Cancer registry was reviewed (1991 to 2014). The age standardized rate (ASR) and the age specific incidence rates (ASIRs) for three time periods (1991-1998), (1999-2006) and (2007-2014) were calculated. Results: The mean age of diagnosis was 59.3±14.6 years old, incidences being slightly higher amongst men (57.6%) and Malays (67.1%). The most common tumor type was adenocarcinoma (96.4%). Rectal cancers accounted for 35.2% (n=372/1,056) of all cancers of the large bowel; more men were affected than women. The proportion of rectal cancer was also high among the indigenous group. In the three time periods, the ASR for CRC increased from 16 per 100,000 (1991)(1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998) to 19.6 per 100,000 (1999-2006) and 24.3 per 100,000 (2007-2014). The ASIRs for CRC increased markedly between the time periods 1998-2006 and 2007-2014, beginning in the 40-44 years age group. For rectal cancers, the ASIRs started to increase in the 25-29 age group onward whereas for colon cancers, the increase was observed at a later age, starting from the 45-49 age group. Conclusions: Our study showed an increase in the incidence of CRC including in the younger age groups. The increase was seen earlier in rectal cancer compared to colon cancer. These data mirror the trends reported from the West.

Aims: To identify changing trends in gastrointestinal cancer incidence in Indonesia according to age, gender, histopathology, and cancer location. Methods: We examined retrospectively the demography, cancer location, and pathological characteristics of 295 consecutive gastrointestinal cancer patients admitted to Cipto Mangunkusumo National General Hospital in [2002][2003][2004][2005][2006]. We compared these data with data from 343 gastrointestinal cancer patients admitted in 2007-2011. The data were analyzed by chi-square, analysis of variance, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, and Mann-Whitney U tests using SPSS 21.0. Results: The most prevalent gastrointestinal cancers in 2002-2006 and 2007-2011 were colorectal cancer (76.3% and 71.4%), followed by gastric cancer (15.6% and 14.9%), esophageal cancer (7.4% and 7.6%), and duodenal cancer (0.7% and 6.1%).There was an increase in esophageal adenocarcinoma prevalence from 36.4% to 69.2% (p = 0.023). The mean age at diagnosis of esophageal cancer decreased from 53.02 ± 13.12) to 50.43 ± 11.93) years (p = 0.031). The percentage of patients with gastric cancer aged 30-60 years increased from 60.9% to 82.4% (p = 0.018) and the percentage of patients aged > 60 years decreased from 34.8% to 13.7% (p = 0.015). In the histopathological analysis of gastric cancer, the prevalence of adenocarcinoma increased from 58.7% to 78.4% (p = 0.036), whereas the prevalence of signet ring cell carcinoma decreased from 21.7% to 5.9% (p = 0.022). The prevalence of gastric cancer lesions extending to >1 location increased from 2.2% to 27.5% (p = 0.001).The frequency of duodenal cancer among women increased non significantly from 0% to 52.4% (p = 0.261). The demography, histopathology, and location of colorectal cancers did not change between the two periods. Conclusions: Our study shows some changing trends in gastrointestinal malignancy in Indonesia in terms of demography, histopathology, and the location of cancers from 2002-2006 to 2007-2011.

Conclusion These results demonstrate that the majority of requests for tumour markers by non-specialists at our institution were inappropriate when compared to the national guidelines. It is reassuring that all the requests from the MDM were appropriate. Specialists should request tumour markers and locally agreed guidelines should be made available to help non-specialists. This will ensure cost effectiveness, improve patient care and reduce unnecessary investigations. Competing interests None.