The Role of Histology in Determining Disease Activity, Treatment, and Prognosis

Histologic activity in inflammatory bowel disease is associated with an increased risk of clinical relapse, surgery, hospitalizations, and disease-associated dysplasia independent of clinical or endoscopic activity. Several histologic scoring systems exist to capture disease activity. However, none has been validated to assess prognosis or response to therapy and there is no universally accepted definition of histologic healing or remission. Although histologic healing is not a current recommended target for treatment, it may be a more sensitive marker of disease activity. Future studies are needed to determine standardized definitions of disease activity, healing, and evaluating normalization of histology as clinical trial outcomes.
Source: Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Clinics of North America - Category: Gastroenterology Authors: Source Type: research