Coelho–Prabhu, Nayantara

Abstract Background Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) are at higher risk of developing dysplastic lesions and colorectal cancer (CRC). Despite the use of high-definition endoscopes, dysplasia is not always detected at colonoscopy. This study aims to determine the rate of dysplastic lesions detected only at colectomy in IBD patients and to identify the characteristics of patients with undetected dysplasia. Methods We retrospectively identified IBD patients that underwent total or sub-total colectomy at Mayo Clinic, between January 2013 and December 2022. Patients with a confirmed IBD diagnosis, with at least one colonoscopy report prior to surgery available, were included. Data collected was demographics, comorbid conditions, colonoscopy, surgery, and their pathology reports. Concordance between dysplasia found at colonoscopy and dysplasia found at surgery was evaluated, noting dysplasia sites and grade. Patients were then divided into three groups: those with at least one undetected dysplastic lesion at surgery, those with dysplasia detected at colonoscopy and no further lesions at surgery, and those without dysplasia at both. Results Seven hundred-four patients were included: 387 (55%) were male, 450 (64%) had ulcerative colitis, 197 (28%) had Crohn’s disease and 57 (8%) had indeterminate colitis. In 42 patients (6%) dysplasia was undetected at colonoscopy, 136 (19.3%) had dysplasia detected at colonoscopy, and 526 (74.7%) had no dysplasia at both. In the group with dysplasia detected, 40 patients (30%) had dysplasia only at colonoscopy while 96 (70%) had dysplasia at surgery as well. Among those with undetected dysplasia, in 17 (40%) dysplasia was identified only at surgery: 14 (82%) had low grade dysplasia and 3 (18%) had cancer. All cancers were stage 1. Three of these patients (18%) had primary sclerosing cholangitis and 4 (23%) had a family history of cancer. In the other 25 patients (60%), dysplasia was detected at colonoscopy but further dysplastic foci were identified at surgery. In 13 (52%) patients dysplasia was upgraded, in 2 (8%) was downgraded and in 10 (40%) the grade was confirmed. Compared to those with detected dysplasia, these patients more frequently had moderate-severe disease activity, and less frequently a prior history of dysplasia. There was no difference in age at surgery, but those with undetected dysplasia had less years of disease at colectomy. Further results are shown in Table 1. Conclusion The rate of dysplastic lesions found at colectomy and missed at colonoscopy is 6%. Dysplastic lesions tend to be undetected when endoscopic disease activity is more severe and regardless of the use of extensive nontargeted biopsies.

Abstract Background Fecal calprotectin (FC) is a promising biomarker for assessing ulcerative colitis (UC) endoscopic activity. However, the optimal FC cutoff to identify each Mayo endoscopic subscore (MES) remains inconclusive. Methods The electronic medical records of 177 adult UC patients evaluated at Mayo Clinic Rochester from January 2017 to March 2023 were retrospectively reviewed, obtaining clinical data and US-based Werfen Diagnostics FC levels collected within 30 days before colonoscopy or flexible sigmoidoscopy. Three independent inflammatory bowel disease specialist endoscopists blindly reviewed the most severe endoscopic images for grading MES. Results The median interval between FC collection and endoscopy was 2 days. Fecal calprotectin showed strong positive correlations with MES (Spearman’s r = 0.709; P < .01) and other clinical parameters. Fecal calprotectin cutoff of 60 mcg/g effectively distinguished MES 0 from MES 1-3 (sensitivity, 0.78; specificity, 0.97; area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC], 0.901) and predicted clinical remission (Total Mayo Score ≤2 and no subscore >1; sensitivity, 0.83; specificity, 0.98; AUC, 0.921). Fecal calprotectin cutoff of 110 mcg/g effectively differentiated MES 0-1 from MES 2-3 (sensitivity, 0.86; specificity, 0.87; AUC, 0.915), while a cutoff of 310 mcg/g distinguished MES 0-2 from MES 3 (sensitivity, 0.80; specificity, 0.76; AUC, 0.820). Conclusions This study supports the reliability and applicability of FC as a valuable marker of endoscopic inflammation, particularly in distinguishing MES 0 from MES 1-3 using the FC cutoff of 60 mcg/g. Sensitivity analysis demonstrated robust results.