Abstract
BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains a major burden worldwide, ranking third and second in incidence and mortality respectively. Detection of biomarkers including KRAS mutations can help predict prognosis and response to therapy in CRC, thus this study evaluated the frequency of KRAS mutations among Indonesian patients and their associations with clinicopathologic characteristics. METHODS: Fifty-three CRC samples were collected from January to September 2022 in the Department of Surgery, Dr. Hasan Sadikin General Hospital, Bandung, Indonesia. KRAS mutations were analyzed using PCR followed by Sanger sequencing. Associations between KRAS mutations were evaluated using binary logistic regression analysis. RESULT: KRAS mutations were detected in 52.8% of patients (n=28), of which 3.6% were p.Gly12Ser (n=1), 32.1% were p.Gly12Asp (n=9), 7.1% were p.Gly13Asp (n=2), 3.6% were p.Gln61His (n=1), 3.6% were p.Asp126His (n=1), and 3.6% were p.Lys169Glu (n=1). The p.Asp73= polymorphism was detected in 57.1% of the samples (n=16). KRAS mutation status did not differ significantly between the groups based on the age of onset, sex, tumor location, tumor histology, stage, and family history. CONCLUSION: KRAS mutations are present in high frequency in this cohort of CRC patients in a tertiary hospital in West Java, Indonesia. However, KRAS mutation status is not associated with the age of onset, sex, tumor location, tumor histology, stage, and family history.