Heritable factors account for approximately 35% of colorectal cancer (CRC) risk, and almost 30% of the population in the UK have a family history of CRC. The quantification of an individual's ...lifetime risk of gastrointestinal cancer may incorporate clinical and molecular data, and depends on accurate phenotypic assessment and genetic diagnosis. In turn this may facilitate targeted risk-reducing interventions, including endoscopic surveillance, preventative surgery and chemoprophylaxis, which provide opportunities for cancer prevention. This guideline is an update from the 2010 British Society of Gastroenterology/Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland (BSG/ACPGBI) guidelines for colorectal screening and surveillance in moderate and high-risk groups; however, this guideline is concerned specifically with people who have increased lifetime risk of CRC due to hereditary factors, including those with Lynch syndrome, polyposis or a family history of CRC. On this occasion we invited the UK Cancer Genetics Group (UKCGG), a subgroup within the British Society of Genetic Medicine (BSGM), as a partner to BSG and ACPGBI in the multidisciplinary guideline development process. We also invited external review through the Delphi process by members of the public as well as the steering committees of the European Hereditary Tumour Group (EHTG) and the European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE). A systematic review of 10 189 publications was undertaken to develop 67 evidence and expert opinion-based recommendations for the management of hereditary CRC risk. Ten research recommendations are also prioritised to inform clinical management of people at hereditary CRC risk.
This is the first UK national guideline to concentrate on acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding (LGIB) and has been commissioned by the Clinical Services and Standards Committee of the British ...Society of Gastroenterology (BSG). The Guidelines Development Group consisted of representatives from the BSG Endoscopy Committee, the Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, the British Society of Interventional Radiology, the Royal College of Radiologists, NHS Blood and Transplant and a patient representative. A systematic search of the literature was undertaken and the quality of evidence and grading of recommendations appraised according to the GRADE(Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) methodology. These guidelines focus on the diagnosis and management of acute LGIB in adults, including methods of risk assessment and interventions to diagnose and treat bleeding (colonoscopy, computed tomography, mesenteric angiography, endoscopic therapy, embolisation and surgery). Recommendations are included on the management of patients who develop LGIB while receiving anticoagulants (including direct oral anticoagulants) or antiplatelet drugs. The appropriate use of blood transfusion is also discussed, including haemoglobin triggers and targets.
Main Recommendations
1
ESGE suggests that high definition endoscopy, and dye or virtual chromoendoscopy, as well as add-on devices, can be used in average risk patients to increase the endoscopist’s ...adenoma detection rate. However, their routine use must be balanced against costs and practical considerations.
Weak recommendation, high quality evidence.
2
ESGE recommends the routine use of high definition systems in individuals with Lynch syndrome.
Strong recommendation, high quality evidence.
3
ESGE recommends the routine use, with targeted biopsies, of dye-based pancolonic chromoendoscopy or virtual chromoendoscopy for neoplasia surveillance in patients with long-standing colitis.
Strong recommendation, moderate quality evidence.
4
ESGE suggests that virtual chromoendoscopy and dye-based chromoendoscopy can be used, under strictly controlled conditions, for real-time optical diagnosis of diminutive (≤ 5 mm) colorectal polyps and can replace histopathological diagnosis. The optical diagnosis has to be reported using validated scales, must be adequately photodocumented, and can be performed only by experienced endoscopists who are adequately trained, as defined in the ESGE curriculum, and audited.
Weak recommendation, high quality evidence.
5
ESGE recommends the use of high definition white-light endoscopy in combination with (virtual) chromoendoscopy to predict the presence and depth of any submucosal invasion in nonpedunculated colorectal polyps prior to any treatment.
Strong recommendation, moderate quality evidence.
6
ESGE recommends the use of virtual or dye-based chromoendoscopy in addition to white-light endoscopy for the detection of residual neoplasia at a piecemeal polypectomy scar site.
Strong recommendation, moderate quality evidence.
7
ESGE suggests the possible incorporation of computer-aided diagnosis (detection and characterization of lesions) to colonoscopy, if acceptable and reproducible accuracy for colorectal neoplasia is demonstrated in high quality multicenter in vivo clinical studies. Possible significant risks with implementation, specifically endoscopist deskilling and over-reliance on artificial intelligence, unrepresentative training datasets, and hacking, need to be considered.
Weak recommendation, low quality evidence.
COVID-19 was initially considered a respiratory disease but the SARS-CoV-2 virus can lead to serious systemic consequences affecting major organs including the digestive system.
This review brings ...new clinically important information for the gastroenterologist. This includes: the mechanisms of tissue damage seen with the SARS-CoV-2 virus; the consequences of immunosuppression in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and chronic liver disease with the additional risks of decompensation in patients with cirrhosis; the impact of COVID-19 on gastrointestinal emergencies, on gastrointestinal endoscopy, diagnosis and treatments. These highlight the need to understand the clinical pharmacology, toxicology and therapeutic implications of drugs commonly used by gastroenterologists and their links with COVID-19. Key Messages: Any part of the digestive system may be affected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and those with pre-existing disease are at greatest risk of adverse outcomes. The risk for drug-drug interactions is considerable in patients seriously ill with COVID-19 who often require mechanical ventilation and life support. Some repurposed drugs used against SARS-CoV-2 can cause or aggravate some of the COVID-19-related gastrointestinal symptoms and can also induce liver injury. Ongoing clinical studies will hopefully identify effective drugs with a more favourable risk-benefit ratio than many initially tried treatments.
Summary Background Accurate optical diagnosis of small (<10 mm) colorectal polyps in vivo, without formal histopathology, could make colonoscopy more efficient and cost effective. The aim of this ...study was to assess whether optical diagnosis of small polyps is feasible and safe in routine clinical practice. Methods Consecutive patients with a positive faecal occult blood test or previous adenomas undergoing surveillance at St Mark's Hospital (London, UK), from June 19, 2008, to June 16, 2009, were included in this prospective study. Four colonoscopists with different levels of experience predicted polyp histology using optical diagnosis with high-definition white light, followed by narrow-band imaging without magnification and chromoendoscopy, as required. The primary outcome was accuracy of polyp characterisation using optical diagnosis compared with histopathology, the current gold standard. Accuracy of optical diagnosis to predict the next surveillance interval was also assessed and compared with surveillance intervals predicted by current guidelines using histopathology. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT00888771. Findings 363 polyps smaller than 10 mm were detected in 130 patients, of which 278 polyps had both optical and histopathological diagnosis. By histology, 198 of these polyps were adenomas and 80 were non-neoplastic lesions (of which 62 were hyperplastic). Optical diagnosis accurately diagnosed 186 of 198 adenomas (sensitivity 0·94; 95% CI 0·90–0·97) and 55 of 62 hyperplastic polyps (specificity 0·89; 0·78–0·95), with an overall accuracy of 241 of 260 (0·93, 0·89–0·96) for polyp characterisation. Using optical diagnosis alone, 82 of 130 patients could be given a surveillance interval immediately after colonoscopy, and the same interval was found after formal histopathology in 80 patients (98%) using British guidelines and in 78 patients (95%) using US multisociety guidelines. Interpretation For polyps less than 10 mm in size, in-vivo optical diagnosis seems to be an acceptable strategy to assess polyp histopathology and future surveillance intervals. Dispensing with formal histopathology for most small polyps found at colonoscopy could improve the efficiency of the procedure and lead to substantial savings in time and cost. Funding Leigh Family Trust, London, UK.
Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) offers en bloc resection of lesions, allowing precise pathological assessment. Although possible in ulcerative colitis (UC) patients, the chronic inflammation ...may increase the procedural risks and reduce the complete resection rate. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of ESD for UC and to consider the factors contributing to its technical difficulty.
Multicenter experiences of ESD for UC were retrospectively analyzed by reviewing endoscopic videos, pictures, reports, and clinical notes.
A total of 32 dysplastic lesions were included (23 in British patients, 9 in Japanese patients). The lesions were macroscopically flat or with subtle extension macroscopically in 30 patients (94 %), with a median size of 33 mm (range 12 - 73 mm), and were located in the distal colon, including one on a pouch anastomosis. Submucosal fibrosis and adipose deposition were observed in 31 (97 %) and 13 lesions (41 %), respectively. En bloc resection was possible in 29/32 lesions (91 %). One patient had delayed bleeding. Advanced pathology was observed in 11 lesions (35 %). Recurrence was observed in only one patient (after a median of 33 months range 6 - 76 months); however, three patients developed metachronous lesions.
ESD is feasible for UC dysplasia without an increased rate of complications. Submucosal fibrosis and fat deposition were frequently observed and contributed to the technical complexity. Careful and intensive follow-up should be organized to detect metachronous lesions.
IBD confers an increased lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC), and colitis-associated CRC (CA-CRC) is molecularly distinct from sporadic CRC (S-CRC). Here we have dissected the ...evolutionary history of CA-CRC using multiregion sequencing.
Exome sequencing was performed on fresh-frozen multiple regions of carcinoma, adjacent non-cancerous mucosa and blood from 12 patients with CA-CRC (n=55 exomes), and key variants were validated with orthogonal methods. Genome-wide copy number profiling was performed using single nucleotide polymorphism arrays and low-pass whole genome sequencing on archival non-dysplastic mucosa (n=9), low-grade dysplasia (LGD; n=30), high-grade dysplasia (HGD; n=13), mixed LGD/HGD (n=7) and CA-CRC (n=19). Phylogenetic trees were reconstructed, and evolutionary analysis used to reveal the temporal sequence of events leading to CA-CRC.
10/12 tumours were microsatellite stable with a median mutation burden of 3.0 single nucleotide alterations (SNA) per Mb, ~20% higher than S-CRC (2.5 SNAs/Mb), and consistent with elevated ageing-associated mutational processes. Non-dysplastic mucosa had considerable mutation burden (median 47 SNAs), including mutations shared with the neighbouring CA-CRC, indicating a precancer mutational field. CA-CRCs were often near triploid (40%) or near tetraploid (20%) and phylogenetic analysis revealed that copy number alterations (CNAs) began to accrue in non-dysplastic bowel, but the LGD/HGD transition often involved a punctuated 'catastrophic' CNA increase.
Evolutionary genomic analysis revealed precancer clones bearing extensive SNAs and CNAs, with progression to cancer involving a dramatic accrual of CNAs at HGD. Detection of the cancerised field is an encouraging prospect for surveillance, but punctuated evolution may limit the window for early detection.
PDF
