Thiopurines and myeloid disorders: is more caution needed when treating inflammatory bowel disease patients?

Abstract

Thiopurines remain the backbone therapy of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). However, these drugs have potential mutagenic and carcinogenic effects, especially when prescribed for a long time. In addition to the increased risk of lymphoma and non-melanoma skin cancer, recent data suggest that risk of myeloid disorder is increased in IBD patients with past exposure to thiopurines. Even if individual risk is low, practitioners who take care of IBD patients should be aware of this potential complication of thiopurines treatment.

Keywords::

• acute myeloid leukemia
• inflammatory bowel diseases
• myelodysplastic syndrome
• purines analogs

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.