A study published in Gut examined the risk inflammatory bowel disease patients face of developing postcolonoscopy colorectal cancer.
Researchers conducted a population-based cohort study in Sweden from 2001 to 2010. They identified 270,918 individuals who underwent 438,232 colonoscopies. The individuals were diagnosed with CRC within 36 months of a colonoscopy and categorized them into groups if they had ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease or didn't have IBD. Of the individuals, 27,123 colonoscopies were performed on 14,597 individuals with Crohn's; 51,572 colonoscopies were performed on 26,513 individuals with colitis and 13,317 colonoscopies were performed on the non-IBD group.
Here's what they found:
1. Post-colonoscopy CRC rate was 28.3 percent in the Crohn's disease group and 41 percent in the ulcerative colitis group.
2. Crohn's disease patients were at high risk in the rectal cancer location, while younger individuals with ulcerative colitis were at high risk for developing PCCRC.
Researchers concluded, "The high rates of PCCRC in young patients with UC and for rectal cancer location in CD might affect future performance of IBD surveillance."