Risk of malignancy in patients with inflammatory bowel disease treated with Azathioprine or 6-mercaptopurine : the Cape Town experience
The benefits of the use of Azathioprine (AZA) and its metabolite 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) in the treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) are well established. However, concern regarding the long-term use of these agents in the induction of certain malignancies particularlty lymphoma and skin cancer has been reported in renal transplant and rheumatoid arthritis patients. In IBD patients hoever, several retropsective and prospective studies have been conducted (including two meta-analyses) with divergent results. The primary objective of this study was to compare the incidence of cancer in IBD patients treated with AZA/6BMP with those not treated. Secondary objectives were to assess if skin cancer had a higher incidence of occurrence than other cancers, and to determine the independent risk factors associated with cleveloping any malignancy.
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Department of Public Health and Family Medicine