What is the cancer risk in IBD patients?
For patients who have had UC longer than ten years, the risk of colon cancer is greater than that for comparable people without UC. There is data that suggests a risk of 5-10% at that point increasing to a range between 15 and 40% after 30 years, depending upon the particular study one looks at. If only the rectum and lower (sigmoid) colon are involved, the risk of cancer is not significantly increased. Patients that exhibit dysplasia (pre-cancerous changes in cells that can be detected by a biopsy) are at much higher risk. There is some data suggesting that the risk of colon cancer in patients with colonic CD is similar to that of UC patients with disease of similar extent. Other cancers, such as lymphoma or carcinoma of the small intestine or anus, may be slightly more common in Crohn’s disease but the risk is not high. In the presence of longstanding (> 7-8 years) UC which involves more than the rectum and sigmoid colon or extensive Crohn’s colitis then the consensus of informed med
