Risk for Colorectal Cancer in IBD

The risk for colorectal cancer is elevated in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) involving the colon. Accepted risk factors are more-extensive disease, longer duration of disease, primary sclerosing cholangitis, a family history of colorectal cancer (including sporadic colorectal cancer), and active inflammation. Now, further estimates of this risk are available from a prospective, observational cohort study in France that also examined the possible effect of immunosuppressive therapy (specifically thiopurines).

Of 19,486 patients, 2841 had long-standing, extensive colitis (disease duration >10 years and colonic involvement ≥50%) and 16,645 did not. During a median follow-up of 35 months, 37 patients developed colorectal cancer, …