Cancer risk in collagenous colitis

Collagenous colitis is a recently described form of chronic inflammatory bowel disease. Other inflammatory bowel disorders are associated with increased risk of colorectal and extracolonic malignancies, but this has not been evaluated in collagenous colitis. Colorectal and extracolonic malignancies were identified in 117 patients with collagenous colitis from the Johns Hopkins Registry. The incidence rates of identified tumors, overall incidence rate of tumors, and overall mortality were then compared with general population through person year analysis with adjustment for population. No cases of colorectal cancer were found in collagenous colitis patients during a mean follow-up period of 7.0 years (range 2-12 years) after the diagnosis of colitis. Two patients developed colorectal cancer prior to the diagnosis of colitis, but no increase in lifetime relative risk of colorectal cancer was found (relative risk 0.52, 95% confidence limits 0.05-1.5). An increased relative risk of lung cancer in women (relative risk 3.7: 95% confidence limits 1.0-9.6: p = 0.048) was noted. The relative risk of overall malignancy and overall mortality was not different than the general population. In collagenous colitis patients the life time relative risk of colorectal cancer and the relative risk after the diagnosis of colitis with a mean observation period of 7 years was not increased. An increase in relative risk of lung cancer in women with collagenous colitis argues for further investigation of the role of smoking and other factors in this disorder.