title: Early colon screening of adult patients with cystic fibrosis reveals high incidence of adenomatous colon polyps.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Cystic fibrosis (CF) is associated with increased incidence of gastrointestinal cancer. Increasing overall life expectancy of CF patients predicts emergence of colon cancer as a significant clinical problem in the adult CF population. The primary aim of this study was to estimate the incidence of adenomatous colon polyps in patients with CF during systematic screening by colonoscopy.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a single-center series of 45 CF patients aged 40 years and above (mean age, 47 y) undergoing colonoscopic screening. A fraction of these patients (9/45) had history of organ transplantation. Results from transplant and nontransplant patients were analyzed separately.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Adult CF patients have a high incidence of adenomatous polyps identified by colonoscopy. In addition, positive examinations are characterized by multiple polyps and common features of advanced pathology. The incidence of adenomatous colon polyps is greater in male patients, although the 1 patient in this cohort found to have colorectal cancer was female.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CF has features of a hereditary colon cancer syndrome. Increasing life expectancy of CF patients suggests that earlier colon screening in this population may be warranted. Optimal criteria for initiation of screening and frequency of surveillance should be subject of further studies.
authors.affiliation: *Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary Medicine †Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.
authors.forename: Joanne L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Billings
authors.forename: Jordan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Dunitz
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McAllister
authors.forename: Tyler
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Herzog
authors.forename: Aleh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bobr
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khoruts
mesh_terms: D011125:Adenomatous Polyposis Coli / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D000328:Adult; D003113:Colonoscopy; D003550:Cystic Fibrosis; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008910:Minnesota / Q000453:epidemiology; D012737:Sex Factors