Copyright
©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Oct 15, 2025; 17(10): 108514
Published online Oct 15, 2025. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v17.i10.108514
Published online Oct 15, 2025. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v17.i10.108514
Ulcerative colitis and colorectal cancer: Pathogenic insights and precision strategies for prevention and treatment
Martina Catalano, Enrico Mini, Giandomenico Roviello, Gabriella Nesi, Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence 50134, Tuscany, Italy
Stefania Nobili, Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, Florence 50134, Tuscany, Italy
Ismaela Anna Vascotto, Delia Ravizza, Department of Clinical Oncology, Careggi University Hospital, Florence 50139, Tuscany, Italy
Andrea Amorosi, Department of Health Sciences, “Magna Graecia” University of Catanzaro, Catanzaro 88100, Calabria, Italy
Francesco Tonelli, University of Florence, Florence 50134, Tuscany, Italy
Franco Roviello, Department of Surgical Oncology, University of Siena, Siena 53100, Tuscany, Italy
Author contributions: Roviello G contributed to the conceptualization, methodology, and software; Catalano M and Ravizza D contributed to the data curation and writing - original draft preparation; Nobili S and Nesi G contributed to the visualization and investigation; Mini E and Tonelli F contributed to the supervision; Catalano M, Vascotto IA, and Amorosi A contributed to the writing - reviewing and editing; Catalano M, Mini E, Nobili S, Vascotto IA, Ravizza D, Amorosi A, Tonelli F, Roviello F, Roviello G, and Nesi G contributed to drafting, substantial revision, and critical review of the manuscript. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Giandomenico Roviello, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, viale Pieraccini, 6, Florence 50134, Tuscany, Italy.
Received: April 16, 2025
Revised: May 28, 2025
Accepted: August 15, 2025
Published online: October 15, 2025
Processing time: 181 Days and 16.5 Hours
Revised: May 28, 2025
Accepted: August 15, 2025
Published online: October 15, 2025
Processing time: 181 Days and 16.5 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Ulcerative colitis is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease with increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC), particularly colitis-associated CRC (caCRC). The development of caCRC is influenced by disease duration, extent, severity, and factors such as primary sclerosing cholangitis and family history. Unlike sporadic CRC, caCRC tends to occur at a younger age and follows a distinct inflammation-dysplasia-carcinoma sequence. This review highlights the pathogenic link between ulcerative colitis and CRC and summarizes current strategies for prevention, surveillance, and management to improve patient outcomes.