Risk of Cancer in Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Pitfalls in Oncologic Therapy

Abstract

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), represented by ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, is an idiopathic condition caused by a dysregulated immune response to host intestinal microflora, leading to chronic relapsing intestinal inflammation. Individuals with IBD are more prone to die from several diseases, including cancer.

Methods: An extensive search was conducted of PubMed using the following medical subject heading-"inflammatory bowel disease" OR "Crohn's disease" OR "ulcerative colitis" AND "cancer."

Results: In this review article, we discuss the oncogenic mechanisms and genomics of colitis-associated colorectal cancer. Beyond this, we describe the multiple other malignancies that IBD patients are at risk for, discuss caveats in the screening and diagnosis of those cancers, and shed light on pitfalls on the management and treatment of cancer in IBD patients.

Conclusion: Patients, caregivers, and health professionals who deal with IBD must be educated on how to identify warning signs so that cancers can be diagnosed and treated as early as possible.

Keywords: Cancer risk; Cancer treatment; Inflammatory bowel disease.