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Risk for colorectal neoplasia reduced among microscopic colitis patients
Microscopic colitis among patients with chronic non-bloody diarrhea was negatively associated with the risk for colorectal neoplasia compared with patients negative for chronic non-bloody diarrhea, according to recent study results.
Italian researchers also reported that microscopic colitis (MC) was the most common cause of chronic non-bloody diarrhea (CNBD) in patients who underwent colonoscopy, suggesting the need for multiple biopsies. They said that occurred even in cases of uneventful endoscopic inspection and particularly among patients aged older than 40 years.
“MC patients had a reduced risk of colorectal neoplasia, suggesting that this model of chronic inflammation plays a protection effect against colorectal carcinogenesis,” the investigators wrote.
Patients with (CNBD; n=305) underwent pan-colonoscopy with multiple biopsies. CNBD patients were more likely to be women (OR=1.5; 95% CI, 1.2-1.9). Prevalence of MC was 16%, detected through histopathology, with a 70% predominance of collagenous colitis (CC).
Investigators reported an age-dependent rise in risk for MC. Among CNBD patients aged younger than 40 years, the rate of MC was 3.8%, while the rate jumped to 19.2% in patients aged 40 years or older (P=.006).
“This feature spread over time in our population, showing its highest expression in patients older than 80 years, when MC prevalence was equal to 43%,” the researchers concluded. “Notably, this striking age-dependent rise in prevalence was apparent in both men and women population.”
Disclosure: Researcher Stefano Marconi, MD, reports being an employee of the medical department of Chiesi Farmaceutici SpA, Parma, Italy.