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Ulcerative Colitis Treatment Reduces Need for Surgery by Almost Half ROCHESTER, Minn -- October 2, 2009 -- A study published in the October 2009 issue of the journal Gastroenterology has found that ulcerative colitis patients have a 41% reduction in colectomy after 1 year when treated with infliximab. “Our purpose in this study was to see if the use of infliximab for ulcerative colitis would reduce the need for surgery,” said lead author William Sandborn, MD, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. “We found that treatment with infliximab reduced the need for colectomy by 41% compared with patients treated with placebo.” The multicentre, international study included 728 patients who received placebo or infliximab 5 or 10 mg/kg for 46 weeks. Patients were monitored for hospitalisation or surgical outcomes. Of the patients, 87% (630) had complete follow-up for the endpoint of whether or not they had colectomy, while the remaining 13% (98) of patients had follow-up for less then a year, with a median follow-up of 6.2 months. The research showed that treatment with infliximab at 0, 2, and 6 and then every 8 weeks reduced the incidence of colectomy through 54 weeks by 41% in outpatients with moderate to severe active ulcerative colitis. The cumulative incidence of colectomy through 54 weeks was 10% for infliximab and 17% for placebo (P = .02). Compared with placebo, fewer ulcerative colitis-related hospitalisations and surgeries/procedures occurred with infliximab therapy. “One of the most feared outcomes for ulcerative colitis patients is surgical removal of the colon,” says Dr. Sandborn. “Our research hopes to provide other treatment solutions for patients beyond surgery.” Previous research has shown that infliximab therapy induced clinical remission and bowel healing for colitis patients. This new research provides more information and options for patients struggling with this difficult disease, explains Dr. Sandborn. SOURCE: Mayo Clinic E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version