Questionnaire-Based Survey on Management of Ulcerative Colitis-Associated Cancer in East Asian Countries

To elucidate the current management of ulcerative colitis (UC)-associated cancer, a questionnaire-based survey was conducted to gather current opinions on colitis-associated cancer in different East Asian countries.

The questionnaire, based on physicians, contains 9 questions focused on UC management and cancer surveillance. In addition, the questionnaire based on neoplastic cases, which contains 17 questions, was collected and analyzed.

With regard to the diagnosis of UC-associated cancer, most respondents started surveillance colonoscopy within 10 years from onset, favored targeted biopsies, and thought advanced imaging was useful. As for morphology, the frequency of elevated lesion and type 4 lesions was most common in early and advanced cancer, respectively. Peritoneal metastasis was frequently observed, and undifferentiated tumor was frequently developed. Laparoscopic surgery was widely used because it is less invasive. The prognostic outcome was poor, particularly in stage III and undifferentiated type.

The current survey elucidated the current management in Asian countries and characteristics of colitis-associated cancer in these countries.