If you have Crohn’s Disease, then you may also face an increased risk of intestinal cancer — that’s what a group of Denmark researchers are saying. Crohn’s Disease is a serious condition that affects the digestive tract. It causes an inflammation of the area that can be painful and disruptive. If you suffer from this disease, you’re not alone. Nearly 500,000 other Americans are suffering from it, too.
Unfortunately, Crohn’s patients don’t just have to endure intestinal discomfort. They also face a higher risk of two types of cancer — colorectal and small bowel. In fact, researchers found that people suffering from Crohn’s had almost two times the risk of suffering colorectal cancer than other age-matched people who were not suffering from the bowel disease, but this is just the average.
In these patients, the risk of colon cancer was 2.5 times higher and rectal cancer risk was 1.4 times higher than the norm.
What’s important to remember is that not all Crohn’s patients were affected equally. People who only have their ileum (the last part of the small intestine) affected by the inflammation from Crohn’s were not at a higher risk of cancer. However, those suffering from inflammation from the colon area did run a higher risk of suffering the digestive tract cancers later on.
If you suffer from Crohn’s, you don’t need to panic just yet. The authors of this study have stated that the material used dates back as far as the 1940s. Needless to say, the treatment of Crohn’s has improved measurably since then.
So, if you’ve been diagnosed with the disease more recently, the risk of suffering cancer or other serious complications may be considerably smaller in your case. Talk to your doctor about the best treatment for Crohn’s disease and what you can do to reduce your risk of colorectal cancer.