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can mc turn into something more serious?
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can mc turn into something more serious?
can mc turn into something more serious like uc or crohns or cancer?
Hi Ren,
A couple of years ago, I would have said no, MC does not evolve into any other IBD, because there was scant evidence of anything such as that happening. Since then, though, I have discovered several credible reports on the internet, of cases where MC has been reported to have "evolved" into UC. There are also a very few cases where it has been claimed that MC progressed to Crohn's disease. As best I can determine, most of the cases where MC has segued into UC, involved individuals who were not following a program where they used a valid, continuous treatment, to prevent a recurrence of the disease. The doctors treated them for a few weeks, their symptoms abated, and then the doctors pronounced them cured. That approach, as we are well aware on this board, simply does not work. MC is always there, and has to be treated continuously, in order to insure remission. I'm not aware of any cases where someone on a GF diet progressed from MC to UC, (or Crohn's or cancer, for that matter). Here are a few references:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2026344
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11319318
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3556805
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articl ... id=1774654
Here's my take on this:
Bear in mind that just because these doctors reported these cases as "progression of MC to UC", (or Crohn's), does not mean that the presence of MC actually predisposed these individuals to more severe forms of IBD. These authors simply made that "sensationalizing claim", without any evidence to substantiate it. The fact of the matter is that MC does not make anyone immune to any other disease, so logically, there is no reason why someone with MC cannot also develop another IBD, (totally independently of the fact that they already had MC). That would, of course, imply a very low risk of such a thing happening, and that does indeed seem to be the case. If MC predisposed us to developing a more severe form of IBD, then there would be many, many examples where this has happened. That's not the case - it happens very, very rarely, which pretty well substantiates my position, I believe.
The most serious cancer risks with MC are considered to be the same risks that celiacs face, namely Non-Hodgkins lymphoma, adenocarcinoma of the small bowel, and squamous carcinoma, (presumably mostly limited to patients with untreated dermatitis herpetiformis, though there is some risk of esophageal squamous carcinoma), due to untreated gluten sensitivity. Frankly, while these risks are certainly much more significant than the risks that anyone in the general population faces, the risks are still relatively low, due to the fact that the overall risk of these cancers in the general population is so low. For example, the annual risk of NH lymphoma in the general population, in the U. S., is currently 66,120 cases, or about 0.02% of the population. Researchers have shown the increased risk of NHL for untreated celiac disease to range from a low of about 10, up to a 100-fold increase. At a hundred times the risk, that would make the annual risk of NHL for an untreated celiac around 2%, (remember, this is an annual risk, not a lifetime risk).
Researchers have shown the increased risk of adenocarcinoma, for untreated celiacs, to be between 30 and 80 times the risk for the general population. Patients with refractory sprue, (that is, celiacs with no clinical symptoms), seem to be at a particularly high risk of developing NH lymphoma, so that increased risk may apply to asymptomatic MC patients, as well. Most of these cancers are found at the time of diagnosis, IOW, they are the result of years of accrued damage, caused by gluten, due to a lack of a valid diagnosis and treatment. Here's a reference on some of these numbers:
http://www.gastrohep.com/freespeech/fre ... asp?id=113
That's probably more than you wanted to know, but if you need more information, please don't hesitate to ask. I would point out that to my knowledge, no member of this board has experienced any cancer issues that have been linked to their MC, though there have been one or two instances where a subsequent diagnosis of UC has been made.
Tex
A couple of years ago, I would have said no, MC does not evolve into any other IBD, because there was scant evidence of anything such as that happening. Since then, though, I have discovered several credible reports on the internet, of cases where MC has been reported to have "evolved" into UC. There are also a very few cases where it has been claimed that MC progressed to Crohn's disease. As best I can determine, most of the cases where MC has segued into UC, involved individuals who were not following a program where they used a valid, continuous treatment, to prevent a recurrence of the disease. The doctors treated them for a few weeks, their symptoms abated, and then the doctors pronounced them cured. That approach, as we are well aware on this board, simply does not work. MC is always there, and has to be treated continuously, in order to insure remission. I'm not aware of any cases where someone on a GF diet progressed from MC to UC, (or Crohn's or cancer, for that matter). Here are a few references:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2026344
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11319318
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3556805
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articl ... id=1774654
Here's my take on this:
Bear in mind that just because these doctors reported these cases as "progression of MC to UC", (or Crohn's), does not mean that the presence of MC actually predisposed these individuals to more severe forms of IBD. These authors simply made that "sensationalizing claim", without any evidence to substantiate it. The fact of the matter is that MC does not make anyone immune to any other disease, so logically, there is no reason why someone with MC cannot also develop another IBD, (totally independently of the fact that they already had MC). That would, of course, imply a very low risk of such a thing happening, and that does indeed seem to be the case. If MC predisposed us to developing a more severe form of IBD, then there would be many, many examples where this has happened. That's not the case - it happens very, very rarely, which pretty well substantiates my position, I believe.
The most serious cancer risks with MC are considered to be the same risks that celiacs face, namely Non-Hodgkins lymphoma, adenocarcinoma of the small bowel, and squamous carcinoma, (presumably mostly limited to patients with untreated dermatitis herpetiformis, though there is some risk of esophageal squamous carcinoma), due to untreated gluten sensitivity. Frankly, while these risks are certainly much more significant than the risks that anyone in the general population faces, the risks are still relatively low, due to the fact that the overall risk of these cancers in the general population is so low. For example, the annual risk of NH lymphoma in the general population, in the U. S., is currently 66,120 cases, or about 0.02% of the population. Researchers have shown the increased risk of NHL for untreated celiac disease to range from a low of about 10, up to a 100-fold increase. At a hundred times the risk, that would make the annual risk of NHL for an untreated celiac around 2%, (remember, this is an annual risk, not a lifetime risk).
Researchers have shown the increased risk of adenocarcinoma, for untreated celiacs, to be between 30 and 80 times the risk for the general population. Patients with refractory sprue, (that is, celiacs with no clinical symptoms), seem to be at a particularly high risk of developing NH lymphoma, so that increased risk may apply to asymptomatic MC patients, as well. Most of these cancers are found at the time of diagnosis, IOW, they are the result of years of accrued damage, caused by gluten, due to a lack of a valid diagnosis and treatment. Here's a reference on some of these numbers:
http://www.gastrohep.com/freespeech/fre ... asp?id=113
That's probably more than you wanted to know, but if you need more information, please don't hesitate to ask. I would point out that to my knowledge, no member of this board has experienced any cancer issues that have been linked to their MC, though there have been one or two instances where a subsequent diagnosis of UC has been made.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.