Top 5 stories you may have missed in March - Healio

Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease compiled a list of the top five stories posted in March.

Our readers were most interested in updated ACG ulcerative colitis guidelines and updates on the diagnosis and treatment of eosinophilic esophagitis.

Updated ACG ulcerative colitis guidelines provide ‘practical’ management approach

The American College of Gastroenterology has released updated guidelines on the diagnosis and management of patients with mildly and moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis.

The guidelines also address the prevention of colorectal cancer in patients with ulcerative colitis, as well as patients hospitalized with the disease. READ MORE.

Budesonide tablets effective for EoE induction

A recent placebo-controlled trial revealed that patients who received budesonide orodispersible tablets as induction therapy for eosinophilic esophagitis achieved better rates of clinical and histologic remission.

Alfredo J. Lucendo , MD, PhD, FEBGH, from the department of gastroenterology at Hospital General de Tomelloso in Spain, and colleagues wrote that topical-acting corticosteroids are the recommended first-line therapy for EoE, while asthma medications, although not labeled for use in EoE, are sometimes effective. READ MORE.

Cologuard surpasses colorectal cancer screening milestone

More than 2 million Americans have been screened for colorectal cancer with Cologuard since the stool-based DNA test received FDA approval in 2014, according to a company press release.

“Cologuard is changing how Americans get screened for colorectal cancer and, importantly, helping many people do so for the first time,” Kevin Conroy, chairman and CEO of Exact Sciences, said in the release. “Reaching this milestone, just a year after the first million patients screened with Cologuard, means more patients and health care providers are empowered by early detection when colorectal cancer is more treatable.” READ MORE.

Entyvio superior to Humira in moderate, severe ulcerative colitis

Entyvio conferred superior clinical remission and mucosal healing compared with Humira among patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis, according to results of a phase 3b randomized trial presented at the Congress of the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation.

“With multiple agents available for treating ulcerative colitis, particularly the newer agents such as the biologic therapies, it is sometimes difficult to decide which treatment you should use and in what order,” Bruce E. Sands, MD, MS, chief of the Dr. Henry D. Janowitz Division of Gastroenterology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, told Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease. READ MORE.

EoE rates rising steadily

The incidence and prevalence of eosinophilic esophagitis has been increasing at rates higher than previously estimated, according to results of a meta-analysis published in Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics.

Alfredo J. Lucendo , MD, BA, PhD, of the department of gastroenterology at Hospital General de Tomelloso, and colleagues wrote that previous studies have explored just how common EoE is, but those came before a change in definition cast a wider net. READ MORE.

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