Study: Some Chron's Patients Should Have Annual Colorectal Cancer Screening

Six type of patients who have had Chron's disease for 15 years or more should have annual screening tests for colorectal cancer, according to Swedish researchers.

The researchers from the University Hospital in Linköping, Sweden, reporting in the journal Colorectal Disease, said it has been difficult to obtain indisputable information regarding a possible link between Crohn's disease and colorectal cancer.

But between 1987 and 2000, approximately 3 Crohn patients per million inhabitants were diagnosed every year with rectal or anal cancer every year, the researchers reported.

"We suggest that six high-risk groups should be recommended annual surveillance after a duration of Crohn's disease of 15 years," the researchers concluded. These include "extensive colitis, chronic severe anorectal disese, rectal remnant, strictures, bypassed segments and sclerosing cholangitis."

Other sources: Colorectal Disease