(ICI)–related diarrhea and colitis face a substantially higher risk of colon adenomas, raising concerns about potential future colorectal cancer risk.
Lead investigator Tanvi Gupta, MD (UT Health Houston) reported that nearly 30% of patients developed adenomas on follow-up colonoscopy — many within just 7.5 months of symptom onset. Importantly, even patients without prior polyps saw elevated risk compared with ICI-treated controls.Senior author Yinghong Wang, MD, PhD (MD Anderson) said her team now routinely performs surveillance colonoscopy within 1 year of ICI-mediated diarrhea/colitis. Session discussants Danny Issa, MD (UCLA) and Sita Chokhavatia, MD, AGAF (Valley Medical Group) agreed more evidence is needed but called the findings “eye-opening” for a rapidly growing patient population.