Meta-analysis of risk of malignancy with immunosuppressive drugs in inflammatory bowel disease.

Background: There is a concern as to whether long-term administration of immunosuppressants in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) would increase the risk of malignancy.

Objective: To compare the risks of developing malignancy between patients with IBD treated with immunosuppressive agents and patients with IBD not receiving these agents.

Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted, and a meta-analysis was performed on data retrieved from cohort studies that followed patients with IBD who received immunosuppressive agents for more than a year and documented the incidence of newly developed malignancy.

[A systematic review of the clinical effectiveness of azathioprine in patients with ulcerative colitis].

To clarify the effectiveness and safety of azathioprine (AZA) and 6-mercaptopurine (6MP) in the induction and maintenance of remission in ulcerative colitis (UC) by using a systematic review of published studies. Studies were searched for from within the 1966 to March 2003 MEDLINE database, Cochrane Library 2003 issue 1, and the 1981 to March 2003 Japana Centra Revuo Medicina database. References from published studies and reviews were also obtained.