Immunomodulators heighten risk for high-grade cervical neoplasia, cancer in women with IBD

This article in Healio discusses a paper by Kreijne in Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics about how cumulative exposure to immunomodulators raises the risk of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and cervical cancer in women with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The study involving 1,981 women with IBD revealed a 67% exposure to immunosuppressive drugs during a median follow-up of 17.2 years. Extended analysis indicated an increased risk of high-grade CIN with each year of exposure to immunomodulators, emphasizing the importance of intensified screening and HPV vaccination in women with IBD on long-term immunomodulator treatment. No significant association was found between cumulative exposure to biologic agents or combined therapy and high-grade CIN. Read more here.