Ulcerative Colitis-Induced Colorectal Carcinoma: A Deleterious Concatenation

Cureus. 2022 Feb 26;14(2):e22636. doi: 10.7759/cureus.22636. eCollection 2022 Feb.

Abstract

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory gastrointestinal ailment that encompasses Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). UC is an idiopathic, chronic inflammatory condition of the colonic mucosa that begins in the rectum and progresses proximally in a continuous way over a portion of the entire colon. Chronic inflammation is linked to cancer, and IBD-related chronic colonic inflammation raises the risk of colorectal cancer. Chronic inflammation has been linked to cancer, and chronic colonic inflammation caused by IBD increases the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). When CRC arises in people with IBD, unlike sporadic CRC, the lesions are difficult to identify due to mucosal alterations produced by inflammation. The total prevalence of IBD-associated CRC is increasing due to the rapidly increasing frequency of IBD. Screening and surveillance colonoscopy in IBD patients is considered to allow for the early diagnosis of dysplasia and cancer, improving the prognosis of IBD-related CRC by giving patients proactive therapy. This article has reviewed literature pertaining to the mechanisms related to CRC development in UC and its clinical and therapeutic implications.

Keywords: colon cancer; colon cancer screening; colon cancer surveillance; colonoscopy; colorectal carcinoma; ibd; ibd associated cancer; inflammatory bowel disease; uc; ulcerative colitis.

Publication types

  • Review