Risk of colorectal adenomas in patients with celiac disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Increased Risk of Colorectal Cancer in Patients With Celiac Disease: A Population-Based Study

Background and aim: The association between celiac disease (CD) and the development of small bowel lymphoproliferative disorders and esophageal adenocarcinoma has been established in the literature. However, there is only a little evidence demonstrating an increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) in patients with CD. Hence, we conducted a cross-sectional population-based study to evaluate the risk of developing CRC in patients who have had a diagnosis of CD.

Methodology: We used a commercial database (Explorys Inc, Cleveland, OH), which includes electronic health records from 26 major integrated US healthcare systems. Patients aged 18-65 years were included. Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) were excluded. Multivariate analysis using backward stepwise logistic regression was performed to calculate the risk of developing CRC in potential confounders. A two-sided P-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: 79,843,332 individuals were screened in the database and 47,400,960 were selected in the final analysis after accounting for inclusion and exclusion criteria. Using a stepwise multivariate regression analysis, the odds of having CRC among patients with CD was 10.18 (95% CI 9.72-10.65) (P-value <0.001). The odds also remained high among males 1.49 (95% CI 1.36-1.63), African Americans 1.51 (95% CI 1.35-1.68), patients who have type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) 2.71 (95% CI 2.66-2.76), are smokers 2.49 (95% CI 2.44-2.54), are obese 2.21 (95% CI 2.17-2.25), and are alcoholic 1.72 (95% CI 1.66-1.78).

Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that patients with CD are frequently found to have CRC even when adjusting for common risk factors. This adds to the literature and helps spread awareness to clinicians that the effects of CD are not only limited to the small bowel as the disease tends to involve other parts of the gastrointestinal tract also, especially the colon. The threshold to screen patients with CD should be considered to be lowered.

Association between intestinal neoplasms and celiac disease: A review

Celiac disease (CD) is a chronic immune-mediated intestinal disease with genetic susceptibility. It is characterized by inflammatory damage to the small intestine after ingestion of cereals and products containing gluten protein. In recent years, the global prevalence rate of CD has been approximately 1%, and is gradually increasing. CD patients adhere to a gluten-free diet (GFD) throughout their entire life. However, it is difficult to adhere strictly to a GFD. Untreated CD may be accompanied by gastrointestinal symptoms, such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, and extraintestinal symptoms caused by secondary malnutrition. Many studies have suggested that CD is associated with intestinal tumors such as enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma (EATL), small bowel cancer (SBC), and colorectal cancer. In this study, we reviewed related studies published in the literature to provide a reference for the prevention and treatment of intestinal tumors in patients with CD. Compared with the general population, CD patients had a high total risk of SBC and EATL, but not colorectal cancer. The protective effect of GFD on CD-related malignancies is controversial. Further studies are needed to confirm whether GFD treatment can reduce the risk of intestinal neoplasms in CD.