THURSDAY, Feb. 19, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with isolated proctitis have no greater rectal cancer risk than the general population, according to a research letter published online Feb. 3 in Gastroenterology.
Åsa H. Everhov, M.D., from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and colleagues evaluated rectal cancer risk in patients with ulcerative proctitis. The analysis included 15,957 individuals diagnosed with isolated proctitis between 1997 and 2023 and 158,079 matched comparators (controls).
The researchers found that the cumulative incidence of rectal cancer and high-grade dysplasia was similar between patients with proctitis and the controls, irrespective of censoring at extension. At five years, rectal cancer incidence was 0.11 percent in patients and 0.09 percent in comparators; the corresponding incidence rates were 0.16 and 0.21 percent, respectively, at 10 years. For the two groups, the standardized incidence rates were 31 and 33 per 100,000 person-years, respectively; with censoring at extension, the standardized incidence rate was 33 in both groups. The five-year cumulative incidence rates for high-grade dysplasia were 0.06 percent in patients and 0.03 percent in comparators, and at 10 years, the cumulative incidence rates were 0.10 and 0.07 percent, respectively. The standardized incidence rates were 15 and 11 per 100,000 person-years, and 13 and 11, respectively, with censoring at extension.
"This supports a more individualized approach to cancer surveillance in inflammatory bowel disease, where the extent of the disease plays a crucial role," Ola Olén, M.D., also from the Karolinska Institutet, said in a statement.
Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.