Cancer Risk and Life Expectancy of Children with Ulcerative Colitis

Abstract

An actuarial analysis of the long-term survival of 396 children suffering from ulcerative colitis showed that survival rates were 78, 58, 39 and 27 per cent at 10, 20, 30 and 43 years, respectively. The death rate was 20 per cent per decade. The risk of the development of cancer was also 20 per cent per decade for those at risk, but this began after the first 10 years of ulcerative colitis. Among patients suffering from ulcerative colitis involving the entire colon, the death rate was higher, and the risk of cancer greater than among those who had disease limited to the rectum at the time of diagnosis. For 40 of these patients who underwent proctocolectomy the long-term survival rate apparently was improved after an initially higher risk in the first year after operation.