Total Proctocolectomy vs Subtotal/total Colectomy for Neoplasia in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis

Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2024 Nov 4;30(11):1935-1945. doi: 10.1093/ibd/izad278.

Abstract

Background: Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) frequently undergo restorative proctocolectomy with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) for medically refractory disease or colonic dysplasia/neoplasia. Subtotal colectomy with ileosigmoid or ileorectal anastomosis may have improved outcomes but is not well studied. Due to increased risk for colorectal cancer in PSC-IBD, there is hesitancy to perform subtotal colectomy. We aim to describe the frequency of colorectal dysplasia/neoplasia following IPAA vs subtotal colectomy in PSC-IBD patients.

Methods: We completed a retrospective study from 1972 to 2022 of patients with PSC-IBD who had undergone total proctocolectomy with IPAA or subtotal colectomy. We abstracted demographics, disease characteristics, and endoscopic surveillance data from the EMR.

Results: Of 125 patients (99 IPAA; 26 subtotal), the indication for surgery was rectal sparing medically refractory disease (51% vs 42%), dysplasia (37% vs 30%) and neoplasia (11% vs 26%) in IPAA vs subtotal colectomy patients, respectively. On endoscopic surveillance of IPAA patients, 2 (2%) had low-grade dysplasia (LGD) in the ileal pouch and 2 (2%) had LGD in the rectal cuff after an average of 8.4 years and 12.3 years of follow-up, respectively. One (1%) IPAA patient developed neoplasia of the rectal cuff after 17.8 years of surgical continuity. No subtotal colectomy patients had dysplasia/neoplasia in the residual colon or rectum.

Conclusions: In patients with PSC-IBD, there was no dysplasia or neoplasia in those who underwent subtotal colectomy as opposed to the IPAA group. Subtotal colectomy may be considered a viable surgical option in patients with rectal sparing PSC-IBD if adequate endoscopic surveillance is implemented.

Keywords: colectomy; dysplasia; inflammatory bowel disease; primary sclerosing cholangitis.

Plain language summary

We sought to evaluate the risk of developing dysplasia in patients with both inflammatory bowel disease and primary sclerosing cholangitis, following surgery with either total proctocolectomy with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis or subtotal/total colectomy with ileosigmoid or ileorectal anastomosis.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Cholangitis, Sclerosing* / complications
  • Cholangitis, Sclerosing* / surgery
  • Colectomy* / adverse effects
  • Colectomy* / methods
  • Colorectal Neoplasms / pathology
  • Colorectal Neoplasms / surgery
  • Female
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Inflammatory Bowel Diseases* / complications
  • Inflammatory Bowel Diseases* / surgery
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Proctocolectomy, Restorative* / adverse effects
  • Proctocolectomy, Restorative* / methods
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Young Adult