Top gastroenterology stories: Most colorectal cancer deaths linked to screening failures, vedolizumab safety hampered by smoking

Among the top stories in gastroenterology this week were findings that staying up to date on screening can markedly reduce a patient’s risk for death from colorectal cancer and that the safety of vedolizumab was hampered by immunosuppressive agents and smoking.

Other popular stories included research that suggested that vedolizumab could be used to target latent HIV harboring in gut, breastfeeding can limit Crohn’s disease progression in children and patients with inflammatory bowel disease who have a first-degree relative with a history of colorectal cancer have a higher risk for also being diagnosed with that cancer.

Most colorectal cancer deaths linked to modifiable screening failures

Staying up to date on screening can markedly reduce a patient’s risk for death from colorectal cancer, according to research published in Gastroenterology. Read more.

Vedolizumab safety hampered by immunosuppressive agents, smoking

A study published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology revealed that Entyvio was well tolerated and had an overall favorable safety profile in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. However, Joseph Meserve, MD, of the University of California San Diego, and colleagues found that concomitant use of immunosuppressive agents and active smoking damaged that favorable profile, with both factors associated with infections. Read more.

Vedolizumab could be used to target latent HIV harboring in gut

Vedolizumab, a first-line treatment for inflammatory bowel disease that targets the alpha4beta7 protein, might be an important tool in the search for a cure for HIV, according to research published in Science Translational Medicine. Read more.

Breastfeeding can limit Crohn’s progression in children

Children with Crohn’s disease who are breastfed are less likely to experience progression to stricturing or penetrating disease, while other environmental factors, such as smoking, are linked to adverse events among this population, according to research published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology. Read more.

Family history tied to nearly eightfold increase in colorectal cancer risk for inflammatory bowel disease patients

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease who have a first-degree relative with a history of colorectal cancer have a higher risk for also being diagnosed with that cancer, according to research published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Read more.