Prognosis and molecular characteristics of IBD-associated colorectal cancer: Experience from a French tertiary-care center

Abstract

Background: Little is known about the prognosis of colorectal cancer associated with inflammatory bowel disease (CRC-IBD) in a real-world cohort in France.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study including all patients presenting CRC-IBD in a French tertiary center.

Results: Among 6510 patients, the rate of CRC was 0.8% with a median delay of 19.5 years after IBD diagnosis (median age 46 years, ulcerative colitis 59%, initially localized tumor 69%). There was a previous exposure to immunosuppressants (IS) in 57% and anti-TNF in 29% of the cases. A RAS mutation was observed in only 13% of metastatic patients. OS of the whole cohort was 45 months. OS and PFS of synchronous metastatic patients was 20.4 months and 8.5 months respectively. Among the patients with localized tumor those previously exposed to IS had a better PFS (39 months vs 23 months; p = 0.05) and OS (74 vs 44 months; p = 0.03). The IBD relapse rate was 4%. No unexpected chemotherapy side-effect was observed CONCLUSIONS: OS of CRC-IBD is poor in metastatic patients although IBD is not associated with under-exposure or increased toxicity to chemotherapy. Previous IS exposure may be associated with a better prognosis.

Keywords: Colorectal cancer; Inflammatory bowel disease.