IBD in childhood is associated with increased cancer risk

Children diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have an increased risk of cancer, especially gastrointestinal cancers, both in childhood and later in life, according to a new study in The BMJ. The increase persists into adulthood and has not fallen since the introduction of modern drug therapies for inflammatory bowel disease. However, the researchers stressed that absolute risks were low — corresponding to one extra case of cancer for every 556 patients with IBD followed for a year, compared with healthy individuals. Previous studies have identified higher rates of cancer in patients with IBD than the general population, but these…