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Background Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (NENs) are a heterogeneous group of tumours deriving from the diffuse endocrine system. NENs may occur almost everywhere in the body but are most common in the gastrointestinal tract, the pancreas, and the lungs, with gastroenteropancreatic (GEP) tumours representing 70% of all NENs. GEP-NENs have rarely been reported in association with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) but no definitive relationship between these tumours and IBD has been established Methods This was an ECCO COllaborative Network For Exceptionally Rare case reports project (ECCO-CONFER). We included cases of GEP-NENs diagnosed in patients with IBD that met the diagnostic criteria for NEN according to the European Neuroendocrine Tumour Society. Data were retrospectively collected in a standardized case report form and analysed for event association with patient’s and IBD-related factors Results GEP-NEN was diagnosed in 100 patients with IBD [61% female, 55% Crohn’s disease, median age 48 years (IQR 37–59)]. Overall the most common location was the appendix (39/100) followed by the colon (22/100). Complete IBD-related data was available for 50 individuals with a median follow-up of 30.5 months (IQR 11.2–70) following NEN diagnosis. At the last follow-up data, 47/50 patients were alive. Three deaths occurred, of which 2 were related to NEN. Median duration of IBD at NEN diagnosis was 84 months (IQR 10–151), and in 18% of cases NEN and IBD were diagnosed concomitantly. 20/50 of NENs were at stage I (T1N0M0) and 28/50 graded G1 (ki 67 ≤2 %) at diagnosis. Incidental diagnosis of NEN either during follow-up or during surgery as well as receiving diagnosis of NEN concomitantly with IBD was significantly associated with an earlier NEN stage (p< 0.01 and p Conclusion In the largest case series to date, prognosis of patients with concomitant GEP-NEN and IBD seems favorable. Incidental NEN diagnosis correlates with an earlier NEN stage and IBD-related therapies are independent of NEN stage and grade. The association of GEP-NEN location and the segment affected by IBD may suggest a possible role of inflammation in NEN tumorigenesis

SummaryBackground Refractory coeliac disease is a severe complication of coeliac disease with heterogeneous outcome. Aim To create a prognostic model to estimate survival of patients with refractory coeliac disease. Methods We evaluated predictors of 5-year mortality using Cox proportional hazards regression on subjects from a multinational registry. Bootstrap resampling was used to internally validate the individual factors and overall model performance. The mean of the estimated regression coefficients from 400 bootstrap models was used to derive a risk score for 5-year mortality. Results The multinational cohort was composed of 232 patients diagnosed with refractory coeliac disease across seven centres (range of 11–63 cases per centre). The median age was 53 years and 150 (64%) were women. A total of 51 subjects died during a 5-year follow-up (cumulative 5-year all-cause mortality = 30%). From a multiple variable Cox proportional hazards model, the following variables were significantly associated with 5-year mortality: age at refractory coeliac disease diagnosis (per 20 year increase, hazard ratio = 2.21; 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.38–3.55), abnormal intraepithelial lymphocytes (hazard ratio = 2.85; 95% CI: 1.22–6.62), and albumin (per 0.5 unit increase, hazard ratio = 0.72; 95% CI: 0.61–0.85). A simple weighted three-factor risk score was created to estimate 5-year survival. Conclusions Using data from a multinational registry and previously reported risk factors, we create a prognostic model to predict 5-year mortality among patients with refractory coeliac disease. This new model may help clinicians to guide treatment and follow-up.

Summary Background Refractory coeliac disease type I is a complicated form of coeliac disease characterised by primary or secondary resistance to a gluten-free diet with persisting or reoccurring intestinal villous atrophy and symptoms of malabsorption. Besides corticosteroids, azathioprine has been advocated for the treatment of refractory coeliac disease type I. However, tioguanine (TG) might be better tolerated and more efficacious owing to a simpler metabolism towards bioactivation. Aim To evaluate tolerability and effectiveness of the nonconventional thiopurine derivative TG in refractory coeliac disease type I. Methods Refractory coeliac disease type I patients treated with TG between June 2001 and November 2010 with a follow-up period of at least 1 year were included. Adverse events, laboratory values, 6-thioguanine nucleotide concentrations and rates of both clinical and histological response were evaluated at baseline and during follow-up. Results Twelve adult refractory coeliac disease type I patients were included. The median TG treatment duration was 14 months. Ten patients tolerated TG treatment on the long term, whereas two patients withdrew treatment due to adverse events. No nodular regenerative hyperplasia of the liver was observed. During follow-up clinical and histological response was observed in 83% and 78%, respectively. Corticosteroid dependency decreased by 50%. Conclusion Tioguanine appears to be a convenient drug for the treatment of refractory coeliac disease type I based on higher histological and similar clinical response rates as compared with historical conventional therapies.