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Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common tumour in men and the second in women, accounting for 10% of all tumour types worldwide. Incidence is higher in males (ratio: 1.4) and for both genders there is a 10-fold difference in incidence between several regions. With 608 000 deaths estimated each year (∼ 8% of all cancer deaths), CRC is the fourth most common cancer-related cause of death in the world [1].

As a general observation, there has been an increasing incidence in countries where the overall risk of large bowel cancer was low, while in historically high-risk countries either a stabilisation (Western Europe and Australia) or a decrease (USA, Canada and New Zealand) in incidence was reported [2]. A gradient of incidence and mortality between North Western and South Eastern Europe has been observed: new CRC cases increased in historically low-risk areas such as Spain and Eastern Europe …