Faculty Bibliography

OBJECTIVES/OBJECTIVE:Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have a higher prevalence of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) and worse outcomes. Research has highlighted the inconsistent care that is provided to patients with IBD, and at our institution, the CDI testing rate was 41%. The present quality improvement intervention sought to increase CDI testing for inpatients with IBD with a flare. METHODS:Eighty-nine patients admitted to our gastrointestinal unit over a 9-month period with IBD flare were eligible for the study. If a patient did not have a test for CDI ordered, the floor nurse collected stool and alerted the provider to order the test. The primary outcome was percent of eligible patients receiving a test. Secondary outcomes included rate of CDI, length of hospital stay, and readmission rate within 6 months. RESULTS:There was a significant increase in testing for CDI to 75% (p = .0151). Patients who received a test were more likely to have CDI (p = .0316), shorter hospital stays (p = .0095), and fewer readmissions (p = .0366). CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:This study used the nursing admission workflow to increase the rate of CDI testing. Future studies should further characterize inconsistencies in IBD care and implement quality improvements.

In patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), chronic inflammation is a major risk factor for the development of gastrointestinal malignancies. The pathogenesis of colitis-associated cancer is distinct from sporadic colorectal carcinoma and the critical molecular mechanisms underlying this process have yet to be elucidated. Patients with IBD have also been shown to be at increased risk of developing extra-intestinal malignancies. Medical therapies that diminish the mucosal inflammatory response represent the foundation of treatment in IBD, and recent evidence supports their introduction earlier in the disease course. However, therapies that alter the immune system, often used for long durations, may also promote carcinogenesis. As the population of patients with IBD grows older, with longer duration of chronic inflammation and longer exposure to immunosuppression, there is an increasing risk of cancer development. Many of these patients will require cancer treatment, including chemotherapy, radiation, hormonal therapy, and surgery. Many patients will require further treatment for their IBD. This review seeks to explore the characteristics and risks of cancer in patients with IBD, and to evaluate the limited data on patients with IBD and cancer, including management of IBD after a diagnosis of cancer, the effects of cancer treatment on IBD, and the effect of IBD and medications for IBD on cancer outcomes.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Our understanding of malignancy associated with immunosuppression in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) comes from studies of individuals with no history of cancer. We investigated whether patients with IBD and a history of cancer who were subsequently immunosuppressed have an increased risk of developing incident cancer. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of data from 333 patients with IBD treated at 7 academic medical centers who developed cancer and subsequently received treatment with anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF), anti-TNF with an anti-metabolite (thiopurines, methotrexate), anti-metabolites, or no subsequent exposure to immunosuppressive agents (controls). We collected data on their primary outcomes of incident cancers (new or recurrent). Hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated using Cox proportional hazards and Kaplan-Meier survival curves; study groups were compared using the Log-Rank test. RESULTS: During the follow-up period, 90 patients (27%) developed an incident cancer. Patient characteristics between groups differed, but matching was not possible due to the relatively small sample sizes. There was no difference in time to (p=0.14) or type of (p= 0.61) incident cancer among the 4 groups. After adjusting for recurrence risk for type of prior cancer, there was no difference in risk of incident cancer (HR for anti-TNF=0.32; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.09-1.09; HR for anti-TNF with an anti-metabolite=0.64; 95% CI, 0.26-1.59; HR for an anti-metabolite=1.08; 95% CI, 0.54-2.15) or time to subsequent cancer between study arms (p=.22). CONCLUSION: Based on a retrospective study, in patients with IBD and a history of cancer, exposure to an anti-TNF agent or an anti-metabolite following cancer was not associated with an increased risk of incident cancer, compared to patients who did not receive immunosuppression. Larger, matched, prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Immunomodulators and biologic agents are effective in treating inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), and recent evidence supports their introduction earlier in the disease course. An important concern to both patients and physicians considering immunosuppression (IS) for the treatment of IBD is the potential associated cancer risk. Several important clinical questions deserve attention with respect to IBD therapy and cancer. First, does medical therapy for IBD predispose to developing cancer? Second, in an IBD patient with a history of cancer, does IBD therapy impact cancer recurrence? Third, once cancer develops in an IBD patient, is the cancer outcome different? Finally, in an IBD patient with current cancer, does the cancer therapy affect IBD outcomes? In a recent multicentric study, patients were identified based on a diagnosis of IBD and cancer with subsequent exposure to anti-tumor necrosis factor α (anti-TNFα arm), thiopurines or methotrexate (antimetabolite arm) or without subsequent IS exposure (control arm). Two hundred and fifty-five patients met the inclusion criteria. Prior cancers included 121 solid, 62 gastrointestinal, 55 dermatologic and 17 hematologic malignancies. During the follow-up period, 75 (29.4%) patients developed incident cancer: 36 (14.1%) a new cancer, 33 (12.9%) a recurrent cancer and 6 (2.4%) a new and recurrent cancer. Incident cancer rate per 100 person-years for patients exposed to anti-TNFα, anti-metabolites and controls was 2.6 with 795 person-years of follow-up, 14.8 with 122 person-years of follow-up and 8.52 with 422 person-years of follow-up, respectively. In this series of IBD patients with a history of cancer, exposure to IS following a cancer diagnosis was not associated with an increased risk of incident cancer compared to patients who did not receive these agents. Prospective data are needed to confirm these findings.