What are the predictors of malignancy in inflammatory bowel disease?

Background/aim: This study aims to investigate the prevalence of malignancy in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) followed up in a tertiary reference center.

Materials and methods: IBD patients with at least 6 months of follow-up from the gastroenterology clinic between 2000 and 2022 were evaluated retrospectively in a tertiary center. Patient information was obtained from the patient registration system.

Results: There were 697 patients in the study, 320 (45.9%) of these were female. The mean age of the patients at IBD diagnosis was 33.4 ± 13.1 years. The mean follow-up time was 93.1 ± 64.8 (median 84, IQR (25-75) (36-144)) months. IBD types were as; 315 (45.2%) had ulcerative colitis, and 382 (54.8%) had Crohn's disease. Before the diagnosis of IBD, 10 patients (1.4%) had a history of malignancy. The prevalence of malignancy after the diagnosis of IBD was 13 (1.9%). There was a relationship between malignancy and older age, higher BMI, and female sex in survival analysis (p < 0.05). There was no correlation with disease type and malignancy (p = 0.820). When the patients who developed malignancy in IBD were compared in terms of the immunomodulators and biological agents used by the patients who did not develop malignancy, there was no statistical difference between the two groups (p > 0.05).

Conclusion: Older age, higher BMI, and female sex were found to be at risk for the development of malignancy in IBD, although no relationship was found with the use of immunomodulators, biological agents, or disease type.