Pediatric-Onset of IBD Increases Cancer Risk in Later Life: JAMA

In this study, the researchers examined five population-based studies from North America and Europe, which included more than 19,812 participants with pediatric-onset IBD. They conducted a random-effects model meta-analysis of included studies using the inverse-variance method to assess the relative rate of cancer overall and by IBD subtype, sex, and thiopurine exposure among patients with pediatric-onset IBD. Among these 19, 81 patients, they identified715 cases of cancer.

Key findings of the study:

• In a meta-analysis of pooled relative rate (pRR) estimates the researchers found a 2.4-fold increase in the rate of cancer among patients with pediatric-onset IBD (pRR, 2.46).
• They noted that the pooled relative rates were 2.03 for patients with Crohn's disease and 2.61 for patients with ulcerative colitis.
• They noted that this increased rate is primarily due to an increased rate of the liver (pRR, 55.45), colorectal (pRR, 20.29), and small bowel (pRR, 16.20) cancers.
• They further observed that the incidence rate of cancer among patients with pediatric-onset IBD was reported by 4 studies and ranged from 1.0 to 3.3 cases per 1000 person-years.

The authors concluded, "This meta-analysis of unselected, population-based studies showed a greater than 2-fold increased rate of cancer among patients with pediatric-onset IBD compared with the general pediatric populations, primarily owing to an increased rate of gastrointestinal cancers."

For further information:

DOI:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.0595