Background: Leukocytapheresis (LCAP) is a recent modality for treatment of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). This study aimed to assess whether LCAP changed the development of colorectal cancer (CRC) in patients with UC.
Patients and methods: A total of 42 patients with UC underwent surgical treatment from January 2001 until October 2010 at Kurume University Hospital. The patient details, preoperative therapy, operative indication and complications were obtained from our prospective database. Univariate, multivariate analysis and tree model were used for statistical analysis.
Results: In patients who received LCAP before surgery, CRC was significantly less frequent (p=0.0321). CRC incidence following LCAP increased when the disease period from diagnosis of UC exceeded 133 months. Multivariate analysis showed that the odds for undergoing LCAP were significantly higher (p=0.0305) in those cases with a total dose of steroid more than 2.57 g.
Conclusion: LCAP may suppress CRC in UC patients.