HONG KONG, 31 May 2006 - Hong Kong researchers claim to have found a strong link between colon cancer and arterial disease, Hong Kong's two biggest killers, a statement said yesterday.

The study by Hong Kong University's school of medicine found that coronary artery disease (CAD) patients stood a 30.3 per cent chance of developing the cancer or polyps, an indicator of cancer, while those without stood a 19 per cent chance.

The study examined the records of 1,382 people diagnosed with colorectal cancer between 1997 and 2000.

"The studies found that CAD positive patients are at higher risk for developing colon cancer than CAD negative patients owing to a set of common risk factors," the statement said.

"Screening by colonoscopy for these patients is therefore mandatory to help discover (colorectal cancer), which may sometimes be asymptomatic," it added.

Artery disease kills 3.5 in every 1,000 people in Hong Kong, while more than 3,000 new cases of colorectal cancer are recorded each year, half of whom die of the disease.