Colorectal and Liver Cancer Rates Decline in IBD Patients, But Risks Remain for Other GI Cancers
Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)—including Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC)—have long faced increased risks for gastrointestinal (GI) cancers due to chronic intestinal inflammation and immunosuppressive treatments. Now, a large-scale analysis presented at DDW 2025 offers a closer look at how those cancer trends have shifted over time.
Researchers used the TriNetX platform to evaluate GI cancer patterns among more than 700,000 individuals diagnosed with CD or UC over the past two decades. The study focused on incidence proportions from January 2017 to December 2023 for gallbladder, liver/intrahepatic, small intestine, and colorectal cancers.
The findings reveal positive trends in some areas. Notably, colorectal cancer incidence dropped significantly—from 90 to 61 per 10,000 patients with UC, and from 119 to 68 per 10,000 patients with CD. Liver/intrahepatic cancer incidence initially rose among UC patients, peaking in 2020, but ultimately declined to 6 per 10,000 by 2023. In CD patients, this cancer type steadily declined over the study period. However, not all trends were favorable. Gallbladder cancer incidence remained stable but showed a slight increase in prevalence. Small intestine cancer incidence varied year to year, indicating a less predictable pattern.
The results underscore the impact of enhanced screening and disease management strategies in reducing some cancer burdens among IBD patients. Still, the slight uptick in other GI cancers calls for continued vigilance.
“This study highlights a declining trend in the incidence proportions of colorectal and liver/intrahepatic cancer among IBD patients but a slight increase in gallbladder and small intestine cancer,” the authors conclude. “These findings underscore the importance of ongoing surveillance and early detection strategies in this high-risk population."
Goyal R, Sachdeva K, Chowdhary R, et al. Trends in gastrointestinal cancers among patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Abstract Sa1167 presented at: Digestive Disease Week. May 3-6. 2025; San Diego, CA.
