Cancer Risk

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Patients who have suffered extensive ulcerative colitis for 30 years have a one-in-five chance of developing colorectal cancer.Doctors at England's Leicester General Hospital examined 116 cases and found that the cumulative risk of getting was two per cent after 10 years,nine after 20 years and 19 per cent by 30. In a second study involving 204 patients,researchers found that taking medication such as mesalazine regularly and having a check-up more than two times a year reduced the risk of cancer by around 80 per cent. Having regular surveillance colonoscopies was also benificial.Says Dr Jayne Eaden,the sudy's author,"The most important benefit is that we will now be able to give better advice to our patients."