Risk of malignancy in a high-incidence population-based cohort of Faroese patients with inflammatory bowel disease from 1960 to 2020 - a Faroese IBD cohort study

BACKGROUND

The association between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and malignancy remains disputed despite many observational studies. The Faroese population exhibits the highest occurrence of IBD in the world. This study aimed to investigate the cancer risk in Faroese IBD patients in a nationwide IBD cohort.

METHODS

This study included all IBD patients diagnosed in the Faroe Islands between 1960 and 2020. Clinical demographics and cancer diagnoses were retrieved from patient files and the Faroese cancer registry. Cancer risk in IBD patients was calculated as standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) based on the Faroese background population's age- and sex-specific cancer incidence rates, retrievable from NORDCAN.

RESULTS

The cohort consisted of 699 patients with a total follow-up time of 9,629 person-years. Overall, the risk of cancer was not statistically significantly increased compared to the background population. Patients diagnosed with cancer at age 50-59 years had higher overall cancer risk (SIR 1.8; 95% CI, 1.02-2.99) as did UC patients diagnosed with IBD at 50-59 (SIR 2.1; 95% CI, 1.10-3.54). Absolute numbers were small and no estimates for site-specific cancers reached statistical significance, though lung, breast, and cancer of the female reproductive organs were elevated among IBD and UC patients, and colorectal cancer in CD patients.

CONCLUSIONS

This nationwide study found no statistically significantly increased risk of cancer among Faroese patients with CD or UC, except from age 50 to 59 years. While the incidence of IBD is significantly higher in the Faroe Islands than in other countries, risk estimates of cancers are comparable.

Relapsing peritonitis with Bacillus cereus in a patient on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis

We present a case where Bacillus cereus was determined to be the causative agent of relapsing peritonitis in a patient on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). The patient, a 70-year-old man from the Faroe Islands, was admitted with relapsing peritonitis four times over a 3-month period. Peritoneal cultures were positive for growth of B. cereus, a rare bacterial cause of peritonitis. The cultures demonstrated susceptibility to vancomycin, and therefore the patient was treated with intraperitoneal vancomycin, intraperitoneal gentamycin and oral ciprofloxacin. As a result of the relapsing B. cereus peritonitis diagnosis and a CT scan showing contraction of the peritoneum after longstanding inflammation, the peritoneal catheter was removed and the patient converted to haemodialysis. To date, the patient has not been readmitted due to peritonitis. A lack of proper hygiene when changing the dialysis bag was the suspected source of infection with B. cereus.