Comparative outcomes of endoscopic mucosal resection for laterally spreading lesions in inflammatory bowel disease

Background The role of endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) for laterally spreading lesions (LSLs) in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remains controversial despite its effectiveness in the general population. We aimed to characterize outcomes of EMR for IBD-associated LSLs compared with controls without IBD. Methods We performed a retrospective observational cohort study of patients with IBD who underwent EMR and endoscopic follow-up for LSLs, compared with a control group without IBD. The primary outcome was histologic recurrence. Secondary outcomes included en bloc resection and adverse events. Factors associated with recurrence were identified using multivariate mixed effects logistic regression. Results 210 premalignant lesions in 155 patients were included. By histology, 91.0% were adenoma/low grade dysplasia or sessile serrated lesions. Median (IQR) lesion size was 25 (12-30) mm in the IBD group and 20 (12-30) mm in the control group. Recurrence was detected in 30.4% of IBD-associated lesions (7/23) compared with 20.9% of controls (39/187; odds ratio [OR] 2.51, 95%CI 0.59-10.71). En bloc resection was less common in the IBD group (2/23 [8.7%], 95%CI 1.1-28.0) versus controls (106/187 [56.7%], 95%CI 50.4-65.2). After adjusting for lesion size and histology, recurrence appeared more common in patients with IBD compared with controls (OR 3.08, 95%CI 1.04-9.13). Conclusions Recurrence of LSLs after EMR appeared to be more frequent in patients with IBD. Given the added complexity, EMR in patients with IBD should be performed in expert centers with close endoscopic surveillance.