Female IBD Patients: Monitor Cervical Cancer Screenings

Women afflicted with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are at higher risk for cervical dysplasia and cancer.

A new study published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, underscored the significance for female IBD patients and their physicians to cautiously follow the recommended cervical cancer screening guidelines.

The research team conducted a population-based, case-controlled study enrolling a total of 27,408 women with IBD in Denmark, during 35-year period.

Experts examined the risk of cervical neoplasia in women with UC or CD as well as the risk for diagnosis with cervical neoplasia before IBD development.

Results indicated a 2-way link between IBD, particularly Crohn’s disease (CD), and neoplastic lesions within the uterine cervix.

Tine Jess, MD, Statens Serum Institut, Denmark, and the study’s lead author commented, “Our research shows that patients with IBD, specifically Crohn’s disease, are at increased risk for developing cervical cancer, even when undergoing the recommended screening.”

Although patients with both ulcerative colitis (UC) and CD were likely to have increased chances of being diagnosed with cervical cancer before IBD, only CD patients were deemed to have higher risks of developing cervical cancer post IBD diagnosis.

However, researchers discovered that CD patients seemingly had a greater risk of cervical neoplasia in patients diagnosed at a young age and in patients treated with azathioprine.

Results had concluded, “Treatment with TNF-α antagonists and hormonal contraceptive devices may also influence risk of cervical neoplasia in CD.”