# Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Colon Cancer Link Examined



## Jeffrey Roberts (Apr 15, 1987)

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010126/hl/bowel_2.html Friday January 26 2:39 PM ET Irritable Bowel and Colon Cancer Link Examined NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Individuals with relatives who suffer from both irritable bowel disease (IBD) and colorectal cancer may be at a nearly 80% risk for developing colorectal cancer, according to results of a study from Sweden. However, no such link was identified in people related to patients diagnosed with IBD alone. The finding may weaken the theory that IBD and colorectal cancer stem from a common genetic vulnerability, researchers report in the January 27th issue of The Lancet. ``We could not identify an increased risk of colorectal cancer in first-degree relatives of patients with IBD, except in relatives of patients with IBD and colorectal cancer,'' report Dr. Johan Askling of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, and colleagues. ``These results offer little support for a common genetic susceptibility for IBD and colorectal cancer.'' In the study, researchers identified 114,102 first-degree relatives of 37,440 individuals previously diagnosed with IBD. Among the first-degree relatives, 560 cases of colorectal cancer were identified. After a review of patient histories and a statistical analysis, the investigators found that ``first-degree relatives of patients with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis (collectively referred to as IBD) were not at increased risk of cancer.'' But for those related to people with both IBD and colorectal cancer, there was an 80% increase in the risk of colorectal cancer, the report indicates. ``The interpretation of the Swedish findings is clear; the findings do not support the idea of a genetic link between inflammation and (tumor growth) in the colon,'' writes Fergus Shanahan of Cork University Hospital in Ireland, in an accompanying editorial. ``Colitis and colorectal cancer are more likely to have a cause-and-effect relation, which implies that optimum anti-inflammatory therapy will provide effective cancer prevention,'' Shanahan explains. Inflammatory bowel diseases affect about 250 out of every 100,000 people, and can cause symptoms such as pain, severe diarrhea, intestinal bleeding, weight loss and fever. These symptoms, which usually begin in adolescence or young adulthood, vary in severity and duration. The diseases can be treated with medication and surgery, but there is no known cure. ``Understanding the precise relation between IBD and colorectal cancer is clinically important, because it may influence counselling, preventive strategies, (and) screening for cancer and surveillance for (abnormal cell growth),'' Shanahan notes, as well as other treatment considerations for patients with chronic colon inflammation. SOURCE: The Lancet 2001;357:246-247, 262-266.


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## Jeffrey Roberts (Apr 15, 1987)

Note:This article refers to *Inflammatory Bowel Disease* rather than IBS. I think it was a poor choice of words to use Irritable Bowel within the article.Jeff


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## JeanG (Oct 20, 1999)

HI Jeff:Maybe you can make that change in the subject line. It just about scared me to death before I read the article!







JeanG


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## Jeffrey Roberts (Apr 15, 1987)

Good idea!


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