Minireviews
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Endosc. Feb 16, 2022; 14(2): 85-95
Published online Feb 16, 2022. doi: 10.4253/wjge.v14.i2.85
Endoscopic colorectal cancer surveillance in inflammatory bowel disease: Considerations that we must not forget
Paulina Núñez F, Rodrigo Quera, David T Rubin
Paulina Núñez F, Rodrigo Quera, Universidad de los Andes, Digestive Disease Center, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program, Clinica, Santiago 7620157, RM, Chile
Paulina Núñez F, Department of Gastroenterology, Hospital San Juan de Dios. Universidad de Chile, Santiago 7701230, RM, Chile
David T Rubin, Medicine Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, United States
Author contributions: All authors equally contributed to this review with the conception and design of the study, literature review and analysis, drafting and critical revision and editing, and approval of the final version.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Rubin DT has received grant support from Takeda; and has served as a consultant for Abbvie, Altrubio, Allergan Inc., Arena Pharmaceuticals, Bellatrix Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene Corp/Syneos, Connect BioPharma, GalenPharma/Atlantica, Genentech/Roche, Gilead Sciences, InDex Pharmaceuticals, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Iterative Scopes, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Lilly, Materia Prima, Pfizer, Prometheus Biosciences, Reistone, Takeda, and Techlab Inc. Quera R has received grant support from Janssen and Nuñez F P has received support for attending meetings from Janssen.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: David T Rubin, AGAF, FACG, MD, Chief Doctor, Medicine Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, University of Chicago, 5841 S. Maryland Ave, MC4076, Room M410, Chicago, IL 60637, United States. drubin@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu
Received: June 14, 2021
Peer-review started: June 14, 2021
First decision: July 27, 2021
Revised: August 2, 2021
Accepted: January 22, 2022
Article in press: January 22, 2022
Published online: February 16, 2022
Processing time: 240 Days and 9.7 Hours
Abstract

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), encompassing Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, is a chronic immune-mediated inflammatory disease that primarily affects the gastrointestinal tract and is characterized by periods of activity and remission. The inflammatory activity of the disease involving the colon and rectum increases the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) over the years. Although prevention strategies are evolving, regular surveillance for early detection of neoplasia as a secondary prevention strategy is paramount in the care of IBD patients. In this review article, we discuss the current evidence of the risks of developing CRC and evaluate the best available strategies for screening and surveillance, as well as future opportunities for cancer prevention.

Keywords: Inflammatory bowel disease; Endoscopy; Crohn’s disease; Ulcerative colitis; Surveillance; Colorectal cancer

Core Tip: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading causes of death in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) today. However, subsequent reports have shown lower rates of CRC. The expanding medical options in IBD have substantially improved our ability to control severe inflammation and likely to reduce the risk of CRC in this setting. We discuss the current evidence of the risks of developing CRC, and evaluate the best available strategies for detection and surveillance, as well as future opportunities for cancer prevention.