BACKGROUND/AIMS: Long-standing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn disease (CD), is a known risk factor for gastrointestinal (GI) cancer, especially colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the feasibility of chemotherapy for IBD-related GI cancer is not well understood in terms of efficacy and adverse events, because there are fewer GI cancer patients with IBD than without IBD. METHODOLOGY: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of eight IBD patients (CD = 5 and UC = 3) who received chemotherapy for IBD-related GI cancer between April 2003 and March 2013. RESULTS: The most common gastrointestinal adverse event was diarrhea (75%); 38% of patients experienced grade 3 diarrhea. Moreover, all grade 3 diarrhea occurred in patients with CD. The most common hematologic adverse events were anemia (75%), leukopenia (38%), and neutropenia (30%); 25% of patients experienced grade 3 neutropenia. The other severe adverse events were grade 3 AST and ALT elevation (13%). CONCLUSIONS: In this study, the incidence of grade 3 diarrhea was higher in patients with CD. The length and dysfunction of the small intestine is the most likely reason that diarrhea occurred more frequently in patients with CD.
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Long-standing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn disease (CD), is a known risk factor for gastrointestinal (GI) cancer, especially colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the feasibility of chemotherapy for IBD-related GI cancer is not well understood in terms of efficacy and adverse events, because there are fewer GI cancerpatients with IBD than without IBD. METHODOLOGY: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of eight IBD patients (CD = 5 and UC = 3) who received chemotherapy for IBD-related GI cancer between April 2003 and March 2013. RESULTS: The most common gastrointestinal adverse event was diarrhea (75%); 38% of patients experienced grade 3 diarrhea. Moreover, all grade 3 diarrhea occurred in patients with CD. The most common hematologic adverse events were anemia (75%), leukopenia (38%), and neutropenia (30%); 25% of patients experienced grade 3 neutropenia. The other severe adverse events were grade 3 AST and ALT elevation (13%). CONCLUSIONS: In this study, the incidence of grade 3 diarrhea was higher in patients with CD. The length and dysfunction of the small intestine is the most likely reason that diarrhea occurred more frequently in patients with CD.
Authors: Renata D Peixoto; Artur R Ferreira; James M Cleary; João P Fogacci; João P Vasconcelos; Alexandre A Jácome Journal: J Gastrointest Cancer Date: 2022-03-14