Colorectal Cancer Risk in Chronic Liver Disease

Gastroenterologists are familiar with the increased risk for colorectal cancer (CRC) in patients with primary sclerosing cholangiopathy (PSC), which requires annual colonoscopy regardless of the ulcerative colitis (UC) duration.

To determine the risk for CRC in patients with various chronic liver diseases, investigators performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of 50 relevant studies involving nearly 56,000 patients.

The pooled standardized incidence rate for CRC was 6.70 in patients with PSC, 2.06 in patients with chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis, and 2.16 in patients post–liver transplantation. Although all causes of chronic liver disease were associated with increased risk both before and after liver transplantation, there was a parti…