How to contribute

 ECCO Congress

The annual ECCO Congress offers a wide range of sponsorship option and provide flexible exhibition booths sizes. The booking process of the opportunities is supported by the ECCO Industry Webshop with the first release available usually in June. At that stage, the satellite symposia slots and exhibition booth booking are opened accompanied by other significant sponsorship items. The venue branding items, digital sponsorship options, and other possibilities are usually released in September.

In case you would like to be informed about the expected dates and the list of items before the release, please send an email to the Congress Team (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) and you will be added to the mailing list.

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Association Projects

Association initiatives provide opportunities based on following funding scheme:

Educational/Unrestricted Grants:

E-QUALITY: ECCO Quality of Care Project

The E-QUALITY project is a new initiative of the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation to ultimately improve the quality of care of patients living with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD). With this project, ECCO emphasizes its statutory mission: To improve the care of all patients with IBD in all its aspects through international guidelines for practice, education, research and collaboration in the area of IBD.

You can find further information here.

Sponsorship Live Events:

ECCO Educational Workshops

The primary goal of ECCO Educational Workshops is to harmonise IBD practices within ECCO Country Members by presenting the practical use of the ECCO Guidelines on Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. Additionally, the Workshops provide continuous medical education with the ultimate aim of improving the quality of care for patients with IBD. ECCO Educational Workshops are aimed at individuals who are interested in IBD and provide an ideal opportunity to network whilst receiving an update on the latest ECCO Guidelines by top gastroenterologists in Europe.

You can find further information here.

IBD Nurse Education programme

ECCO believes it is essential to develop a comprehensive, practical education programme for IBD Nurses, which aims to increase the number of IBD Nurses and enhances their role. Various discussions led by and with ECCO nurses have confirmed this need. In line with these discussions ECCO has launched an IBD Nurse Education Programme.  The 2nd cycle of the programme took place in Hungary in 2022/2023. The 3rd cycle of the programme will take place in France in 2024/2025.

Y-ECCO Mentorship Forum

This stand-alone event is aimed at transferring career and scientific knowledge from senior experts to junior gastroenterologists within the field of IBD. The Y-ECCO Mentorship Forum is about questioning, challenging, guiding and encouraging young doctors to develop skills and take steps to become the professionals they want to be. In addition, this forum should enable the participants to network with their peers and senior KOLs for potential future scientific collaboration.

You can find further information here.

For further details related to the association projects/detailed brochure on life events, please feel free to get in touch with the Association Team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Current JCC eTOC

Please find here the JCC eTOC service, the table of contents for each new issue that is always being updated. Don’t miss this excellent tool for keeping up-to-date on newly published articles.

Journal of Crohn's and Colitis Current Issue The effectiveness of second- and-third-line biologics in perianal Crohn’s disease—a multicenter propensity score-matched studyTue, 10 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT by

Abstract

Background and Aims

Anti-tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitors (anti-TNFs) are the established treatment for perianal Crohn’s disease (pCD), but relapse and non-response are common. Data on second- and third-line biologics are limited. We present the first direct comparison of second- and third-line biologics in pCD patients with active perianal disease previously treated with first-line anti-TNFs.

Methods

A multicenter retrospective cohort study included adult patients with pCD who failed first-line anti-TNF. The primary outcome was clinical perianal response, with secondary outcomes of radiological response (magnetic resonance imaging or transrectal ultrasound) and healing, and clinical remission. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to adjust for baseline differences.

Results

A total of 486 pCD patients from 23 IBD centers were included, with 333/486 (68.5%) and 216/263 (82.1%) matched by PSM in the second and third-line treatment groups, respectively. In the second-line group, 62/78 (79.5%) of ustekinumab (UST)-treated patients achieved clinical perianal response, compared to 46/78 (58.9%) with vedolizumab (VDZ) (OR 4.47, 95% CI, 1.94-10.28, P < .001) and 38/78 (48.7%) with anti-TNFs (OR 5.29, 95% CI, 2.39-11.71, P < .001). In the third-line group, 38/49 (77.6%) of UST-treated patients achieved clinical perianal response, compared to 29/49 (59.2%) with VDZ (OR 9.96, 95% CI, 2.6-38.4, P < .001) and 27/49 (55.1%) with anti-TNFs (OR 12.03, 95% CI, 2.99-48.47, P < .001). UST-treated patients also had higher radiological response rates than VDZ (OR 3.28, 95% CI, 1.07-10.07, P = .038).

Conclusion

In pCD patients failing anti-TNFs as first-line treatment, ustekinumab may be more effective than vedolizumab or another anti-TNF as second or third-line therapy.Read more Metabolism and response to stress gene signatures reveal ulcerative colitis heterogeneity and identify patients with increased response to therapyMon, 09 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT by

Abstract

Background and Aims

Ulcerative colitis (UC) therapies lead to variable remission and response rates in patients participating in clinical trials, likely due to interindividual target variability, differences in active biological pathways, feedback, and/or resistance mechanisms. Here, we stratified patients into subtypes by characterizing heterogeneity using mucosal biopsy transcriptomics data.

Methods

Transcriptomics data from an andecaliximab phase 2/3 study in patients with UC were scored for gene signature enrichment. Eleven Reactome gene sets, moderately correlated with histological disease activity using Robarts Histopathology Index with low correlation to each other, were selected and evaluated in baseline gene expression data of ustekinumab, infliximab, and adalimumab clinical trials in patients with UC.

Results

Of 11 gene sets, referred to as “Metabolism and Response to Stress” (MARS) signatures, 5 correlated with “non-disease” mucosa and 6 with “disease-related” mucosa. Clustering baseline andecaliximab samples scored with MARS revealed 3 clusters with low non-disease/high disease-related, high non-disease/low disease-related, or a mixture. Importantly, these clusters did not correlate with patient demographics, clinical characteristics, or disease activity metrics. Clustering baseline data from other clinical trials (anti-interleukin-12/23 and anti-tumor necrosis factor) in patients with UC scored with MARS showed that patients in low non-disease/high disease-related baseline score clusters less likely to achieve treatment response.

Conclusions

We identified and evaluated a novel, multi-dimensional signature gene set to characterize previously undefined heterogeneity in patients with UC and identify patients less likely to respond to therapy. This approach offers potential utility to define clinical trial populations, enrich for clinical responders, and identify difficult-to-treat populations for therapeutic development.Read more Hit the road JAK: is there still hope left for TYK2 inhibition in IBD?Thu, 05 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT by NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre10.13039/501100018956NIHR203312Read more Gene-Environment Interactions in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Systematic Review of Human Epidemiologic StudiesWed, 04 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT by

Abstract

Background and Aims

Complex gene-environment interaction (GXE) for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remains elusive. This systematic review aims to summarize the current evidence of GXE in IBD.

Methods

PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Scopus were systematically searched from inception through April 30, 2024, to identify publications examining the interaction effect of genetic variants and environmental factors in IBD. All eligible studies were graded using STREGA guideline.

Results

Four thousand eight hundred thirty-three publications were identified and screened, resulting in 39 eligible studies, and 17 studies reported statistically significant interactions. NOD2-smoking interaction was most frequently investigated and showed variant-specific effect at rs2066847 regarding the risk of Crohn’s disease. Gene-smoking interactions were further identified in other IBD risk genes (ATG16L1, IL23R, and CALM3), detoxification genes (GSTP1 and HMOX1), smoking-associated genes (CHRNA3, CHRNA5, PPP1R3C, and BDNF), and the inflammatory cytokine (IL1B) through a candidate gene approach. Immunochip-wide interaction analyses yielded 64 smoking interacting variants. Gene-diet interactions were observed across multiple nutritional measures, including fatty acid intake with CYP4F3 and FADS2, serum selenium with SEPHS1 and SEPSECS, potassium intake with IL21, alcohol consumption with IL12B, heme iron intake with FCGR2A, and serum vitamin D with VDR.

Conclusions

Current evidence indicated that the IBD risk conferred by environmental factors can vary among the individuals carrying certain genetic variants. Further efforts, including genome wide environment interaction studies and genotype-based nutrition/lifestyle clinical trials, are needed to unravel the missing heritability influenced by environmental exposures and to construct personalized recommendations of lifestyle/dietary modification based on an individual genetic background.Read more Long-term disease course of ulcerative colitis in a prospective European population-based inception cohort—an Epi-IBD cohort studyTue, 03 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT by

Abstract

Background and aims

The Epi-IBD cohort is a population-based inception cohort of patients with inflammatory bowel disease from 22 European centers. The aim was to assess the 10-year disease course of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) across Europe.

Methods

Patients were followed prospectively from the time of diagnosis in 2010 and 2011, with a uniform collection of data to the end of 2020. Associations between covariates and colectomy, progression to extensive disease, and hospitalization were analyzed separately by multivariable Cox regression analyses in a propensity-score-matched subpopulation to address regional differences.

Results

A total of 873 UC patients were recruited (Eastern Europe: 196 [22.4%], Western Europe: 677 [77.5%]). The 10-year crude rate for the use of advanced therapy was comparable in Eastern (13%) and Western Europe (16%) (P > 0.9), and the median time from diagnosis until initiation of advanced treatment was similar, at 3 years. The need for colectomy remained comparable in Eastern and Western Europe, with a 10-year crude rate of 4% and 6% (Cox: P = 0.6), respectively. Likewise, disease progression to extensive disease (10-year rate: 17%, Cox: P = 0.06) and hospitalization (10-year rate: 23%, Cox: P = 0.2) were comparable across Europe. The use of advanced therapy and the early use of corticosteroids were both associated with an increased risk of colectomy (Cox: both P < 0.05).

Conclusions

While the introduction of advanced therapies for UC has transformed the therapeutic landscape, their impact on colectomy rates, disease progression, and hospitalizations remains modest. Our findings highlight the need for continued innovation in UC treatment and the importance of individualized and targeted care to achieve optimal long-term outcomes.Read more Cancer incidence in patients with ulcerative colitis naïve to or treated with thiopurine and targeted therapies—a cohort study 2007 to 2022 with comparison to the general populationMon, 02 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT by

Abstract

Background

Cancer incidence data including absolute risk differences are needed for clinical risk communication to patients receiving modern-day treatments for ulcerative colitis (UC).

Methods

We linked nationwide Swedish health registers and assessed incident cancers in patients with UC in 2007-2022. We computed age-stratified incidence rates (IRs), IR differences, and hazard ratios (HRs) in a naïve cohort with no immunomodulatory treatment, and in cohorts treated with thiopurine or targeted therapies. General population comparator subjects were matched (by age, sex, calendar year, and area of residence) to each treatment cohort. We used a once-exposed—always-exposed design.

Results

We identified 63 925 patients with UC in partly overlapping cohorts and 593 072 comparators with a total follow-up time of 5 800 089 years (median 8.1 years). The IRs were elevated compared to the general population in naïve patients: 2.7 extra cancer cases per 1000 person-years (HR: 1.12, 95% CI, 1.09-1.16), in thiopurine-treated patients: 3.4 extra cases (HR: 1.48;1.37-1.61), tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi)-treated: 2.7 extra cases (HR: 1.41;1.24-1.62), Thiopurine + TNFi-treated: 2.42 extra cases (HR: 1.44;1.19-1.75), vedolizumab-treated: 2.88 extra cases (HR: 1.27;0.90-1.79). The IR differences were not significantly increased in patients treated with ustekinumab 0.57 (HR: 0.87;0,39-1.93) and tofacitinib −0.69 (HR: 0.84;0.25-2.77). Across all treatment groups, the IR differences compared to the general population were highest in patients ≥ 60 years. The differences were driven by colorectal cancer, hepatobiliary cancer, lymphoma, and basal cell skin carcinoma.

Conclusions

Elevated cancer incidence was observed in patients with UC amounting to around 3 extra cases of cancer per 1000 years. Cancer risks varied more among groups defined by age than by treatment.Read more Spatial immune profiling of Crohn’s disease fistula carcinomas—defining a distinct cancer subtypeMon, 26 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT by

Abstract

Background and Aims

Fistula formation is a common and debilitating complication in Crohn’s disease (CD). CD-associated fistula carcinomas (Fi-Cas), though rare, pose diagnostic and prognostic challenges. This study aims to identify disease-defining immune cell subsets in CD-associated Fi-Cas.

Methods

The study included tissue samples from 10 CD patients with Fi-Cas, 7 with CD-associated fistulas, and 6 with sporadic colorectal cancer (CRC). The main tumor (MT), infiltration front, and non-involved areas were analyzed in tumor samples. A 36-marker panel was employed to define the immune landscape using imaging mass cytometry. Samples were processed, stained, and analyzed for immune cell compositions, cell-cell interactions, and spatial microenvironments.

Results

The immune infiltrate in Fi-Cas shared similarities with both CD fistulas and CRC. Fi-Ca samples exhibited high levels of neutrophils, B cells, and CD163^high macrophages. CRC MT samples showed an increased presence of intraepithelial CD8⁺ lymphocytes and CD163^low macrophages. Cleaved Caspase-3 levels were highest in CRC MT samples, correlating positively with CD163^low macrophages and cytotoxic T cells. In contrast, Fi-Ca MT samples showed a negative correlation between cleaved Caspase-3 and cytotoxic T cells. Analysis of cellular microenvironments and dimensionality reduction clustering based on immune cell frequencies indicated Fi-Cas to exhibit a mixture of immune cell characteristics from both CD fistulas and CRC.

Conclusions

The immune landscape of CD-associated Fi-Cas exhibits features of both CD fistulas and CRC, suggesting a complex pathogenesis influenced by chronic inflammation. Our data suggest that Fi-Cas represent a unique cancer subtype, that requires further analysis to develop targeted therapeutic strategies.Read more Therapeutic potential of Janus kinase inhibitors for the management of fibrosis in inflammatory bowel diseaseSat, 24 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT by

Abstract

Intestinal fibrosis in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is caused by uncontrolled accumulation of extracellular matrix deposited by fibroblasts. This may result in stricture formation, especially in Crohn’s disease. Since there are no anti-fibrotic drugs available, endoscopic or surgical interventions are the only options to treat intestinal strictures. The Janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK-STAT) pathway plays a crucial role in intestinal homeostasis and inflammation. JAK inhibition represents a relatively novel therapeutic strategy in IBD by simultaneously blocking multiple cytokines across various inflammatory pathways. Interestingly, JAK inhibitors extend their benefits beyond anti-inflammatory effects, as they have been shown to interfere with fibrotic processes in various diseases, including IBD. We here summarize the current understanding of the role of the JAK-STAT pathway in the pathogenesis of intestinal fibrosis and the application of JAK inhibitors for IBD. In addition, we discuss the use of JAK inhibitors in other fibrotic-related diseases to postulate how these agents might be applied for future treatment of intestinal fibrosis.Read more Serum biomarkers of collagen remodeling are associated with intestinal fibrosis and differentiate stenotic from luminal Crohn’s disease patients: a pre- and post-resection longitudinal studyTue, 20 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT by

Abstract

Background and Aims

Crohn’s disease (CD) is characterized by progressive intestinal transmural damage, including fibrosis and strictures, which impair quality of life and require surgical intervention. No anti-stricture therapies are available, and no accurate biomarkers have been validated allowing prediction of strictures. Collagen fragments synthesis and remodeling show potential as markers of transmural disease activity. This study aimed to evaluate serum collagen markers for their accuracy in differentiating between stenosing and luminal CD and assessing their correlation with histopathology.

Methods

Sixty-two patients undergoing resection for stricturing CD and 49 with luminal CD were prospectively included. Extracellular matrix (ECM) markers were quantified using ELISA, and histological assessments of fibrosis and inflammation were performed on full-thickness tissue samples. Clinical outcomes, biomarkers, and histology were analyzed over a 12-month follow-up.

Results

Extracellular matrix markers, including PRO-C6, PRO-C3, PRO-C5, C4M, and PRO-C4, distinguished stenosing from luminal CD with and the combination of PRO-C6, PRO-C3, and PRO-C5 achieved the highest discriminative power of (AUC 0.91). Significant changes in levels of the collagen biomarker were observed post-resection. Histological analysis revealed extensive intestinal fibrosis in the submucosa of the stenotic segments, which correlated with PRO-C6 levels. C4M and PRO-C4 positively correlated with neutrophils in the lamina propria. CTX-III correlated negatively with the D’Haens score and neutrophils and mononuclear cells in the lamina propria and in the epithelium.

Conclusions

Collagen markers distinguished stenosing from luminal CD, and they correlated with histological fibrosis and chronic inflammation, promising for understanding ECM remodeling. This study highlights the need for extended follow-up to assess long-term stenosis-related outcomes.Read more The angiotensin receptor blocker, losartan, reduces inflammation and fibrosis, and prevents relapse of fibrosis after steroid-induced remission, in mice prone to Crohn’s disease-like ileitisTue, 20 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT by

Abstract

Background and Aims

The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is known to modulate fibrosis, which is a common complication of ileal Crohn’s disease. We tested the efficacy of losartan, an angiotensin receptor blocker, to treat intestinal fibrosis in relevant preclinical models of Crohn’s-like disease.

Methods

Effector molecules of the RAS were mined in a large publicly available RNA-Seq dataset of intestinal biopsies from Crohn’s patients and healthy individuals, and the presence of associated proteins was confirmed by immunohistochemistry in full-thickness intestinal tissues. Losartan’s efficacy in altering mediators of the RAS and of fibrosis was tested in vitro using activated CCD-18Co fibroblasts, while its in vivo effects were investigated by administering losartan to SAMP1/YitFc (SAMP) mice, a well-described model of Crohn’s-like disease that progressively develops both ileal-specific inflammation and fibrosis, using either therapeutic or maintenance of remission (treatment after dexamethasone) approaches.

Results

Angiotensinogen, an upstream regulator of the RAS, and the downstream effector, angiotensin II receptor type 1, expressed on target cells, are both increased in involved vs non-involved gut mucosa from Crohn’s patients compared to healthy controls. In vitro, losartan suppresses the expression of molecules related to fibrosis, fibroblast-to-myofibroblast differentiation, collagen deposition, and cytoskeletal alterations. In vivo, losartan decreases both inflammation and fibrosis in SAMP mice with established disease, and prevents the reoccurrence of fibrosis following a novel relapse protocol.

Conclusions

Losartan, and other drugs targeting the RAS, may serve as an effective treatment to successfully dampen intestinal fibrosis during active inflammation, as well as prevent its progression after corticosteroid-induced remission in Crohn’s patients.Read more Restoring Prostacyclin/PGI2-PTGIR signaling alleviates intestinal fibrosis in Crohn’s disease via fibroblast-specific YAP/TAZ inhibitionTue, 20 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT by

Abstract

Background and Aims

Intestinal obstruction caused by fibrosis is a common and serious complication of Crohn’s disease (CD). Yes-associated protein (YAP) and transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motifs (TAZ), the transcriptional effectors of the Hippo signaling pathway, have emerged as key drivers of intestinal fibrosis. Systematic inhibition of YAP/TAZ failed to combat fibrotic progression, probably due to the vital role of epithelial YAP/TAZ in intestinal homeostasis.

Methods

Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) and immunohistochemical staining were used to detect serum Prostaglandin I2 (PGI2) levels and PGI2 Receptor (PTGIR) in clinical samples derived from CD patients. Dual luciferase reporter and Cut & Run assays were performed to explore the transcriptional regulatory mechanisms of PTGIR and PGI2 synthase (PTGIS) by tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), respectively. Primary intestinal fibroblasts and a chronic colitis model were used for assessing the efficacy of a PTGIR agonist in combating fibrosis.

Results

The Gαs-coupled PTGIR is expressed in intestinal fibroblasts but is barely expressed in intestinal epithelial cells. PTGIR transcription is directly activated by p65 in fibroblasts upon TNF-α stimulation. Importantly, PTGIS is transcriptionally suppressed by TGF-β, leading to the loss of endogenous antifibrotic PGI2-PTGIR signaling. Serum PGI2 levels are decreased in CD patients with stenosis and are negatively correlated with disease duration. The PTGIR agonist inhibited the profibrotic function of YAP/TAZ in intestinal fibroblasts in vitro and reversed intestinal fibrosis in vivo.

Conclusions

The antifibrotic effects of PGI2-PTGIR signaling are impaired in CD. Restoring PGI2-PTGIR signaling is a pharmacologically tractable and cell-selective approach to targeting YAP/TAZ via PTGIR, which reverses intestinal fibrosis.Read more Distinct perturbances in metabolic pathways associate with disease progression in inflammatory bowel diseaseSun, 18 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT by

Abstract

Background and Aims

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) exhibit distinct shifts in circulating metabolite levels linked to disease activity and phenotype, but associations with disease progression remain unexplored. Our aim was to investigate relationships between circulating metabolites and metabolic pathways with disease progression risk in patients with IBD.

Methods

We performed an observational cohort study using the Mount Sinai Crohn’s and Colitis Registry. Follow-up data were retrieved from longitudinal electronic health records. Untargeted metabolomic analysis was performed on baseline serum. Disease progression was defined as new systemic steroid or biological prescriptions, IBD-related hospitalization, or surgery. We used multivariable Cox proportional hazards (CoxPH) regression, L1-regularized CoxPH, and Random Survival Forest models to analyze metabolite associations with disease progression risk.

Results

We studied 1292 metabolites in 277 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 375 patients with Crohn’s disease (CD). Over a median follow-up of 2 years, 57.5% experienced disease progression. In CD, 151 metabolites correlated with disease progression (false discovery rate [FDR] < 0.1): 81 (53.6%) associated with higher risk (enriched in amino acids, purine/pyrimidine metabolism, and bile acids) and 70 (46.4%) with lower risk (enriched in fatty acid oxidation, steroid biosynthesis, tryptophan, and antioxidants). In UC, 84 metabolites associated with disease progression (FDR < 0.1): 29 (34.5%) with increased risk (enriched in sphingolipids, hydrogen sulfide, and tyrosine metabolism) and 55 (65.5%) with decreased risk (enriched in steroid biosynthesis, histidine, and phenylalanine metabolism). Survival models incorporating a combination of metabolomic data and clinical parameters outperformed those based solely on clinical variables, including age, sex, disease location, disease behavior, disease extent, current and prior use of biologics, endoscopic disease activity, surgical history, and perianal disease.

Conclusions

Specific metabolites and pathways are associated with disease progression in IBD, highlighting potential prognostic biomarkers and relevant pathways.Read more Deucravacitinib in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: 12-week efficacy and safety results from 3 randomized phase 2 studies in Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitisTue, 13 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT by

Abstract

Background and Aims

Tyrosine kinase 2 is a downstream intracellular mediator of interleukin-23 signaling, which has a key role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease. Deucravacitinib is a novel, oral, selective, allosteric tyrosine kinase 2 inhibitor currently approved for the treatment of adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.

Methods

Here we describe 3 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 studies of deucravacitinib in patients with moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease (LATTICE-CD [NCT03599622]) or ulcerative colitis (LATTICE-UC [NCT03934216] and IM011-127 [NCT04613518]). Patients were randomized to receive placebo or twice-daily deucravacitinib 3 or 6 mg (LATTICE-CD), 6 mg (LATTICE-UC), or 12 mg (IM011-127) for 12 weeks. Coprimary endpoints for LATTICE-CD were clinical remission and endoscopic response at week 12. The primary endpoint was clinical remission (per modified Mayo score) at week 12 for LATTICE-UC and clinical response (per modified Mayo score) at week 12 for IM011-127.

Results

A total of 239 (LATTICE-CD), 131 (LATTICE-UC), and 38 (IM011-127) patients were randomized. The primary endpoints were not met for all 3 studies, which resulted in early study termination for LATTICE-CD and IM011-127. High efficacy rates were observed in placebo groups throughout the studies. In all studies, the safety profile of deucravacitinib was consistent with the known safety profile observed in patients with psoriasis, and no new safety signals were observed.

Conclusions

Deucravacitinib at multiple doses did not demonstrate significant clinical benefit vs placebo in moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. Deucravacitinib was safe and well tolerated.Read more Risk of colectomy is decreasing among newly diagnosed Finnish ulcerative colitis patientsTue, 13 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT by

Abstract

Background and Aims

The risk of colectomy in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) has decreased since the 20th century. Our aim was to determine the colectomy risk of newly diagnosed Finnish UC patients and compare the risk of the prebiological and biological era.

Methods

We used the registry of the Social Insurance Institution of Finland to find newly diagnosed UC patients, and colectomies were collected from the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. The patients were stratified according to the year of UC diagnosis into 3 groups: 2000-2005 (prebiological), 2006-2012, and 2013-2020.

Results

We identified 32 108 UC patients and 2195 colectomies performed on them. The 1-, 5-, and 10-year cumulative colectomy risk was 1.0%, 4.7%, and 7.3%, respectively. The risks declined with the incidence rate ratio (IRR) 0.98 (95% CI, 0.96-0.99), IRR 0.97 (CI, 0.96-0.98), and IRR 0.97 (CI, 0.96-0.99), respectively. Men and the pediatric group had higher risk of surgery (IRR 1.25, CI, 1.15-1.37 and IRR 1.69, CI, 1.51-1.89). Colectomy risks were lower in the last study era (IRR 0.757, CI, 0.574-0.997 in 1-year and IRR 0.70, CI, 0.61-0.82 in 5-year risk), and the 10-year risk was also decreased in the second era (IRR 0.87, CI, 0.78-0.97) compared to the prebiological era. The pediatric population had lower risk of surgery only in the last era, whereas the risk among the elderly remained constant.

Conclusions

The risk of colectomy in UC patients has decreased in the 21st century.Read more Differential effects of tofacitinib on macrophage activation contribute to lack of response in ulcerative colitis patientsMon, 05 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT by

Abstract

Background and Aims

Tofacitinib, a Janus kinase inhibitor, is approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis. Nonetheless, 40-60% of patients will not respond adequately. The mechanisms underlying responses to tofacitinib remain unknown.

Methods

We applied single-cell and/or bulk RNA analysis to biopsies (n = 23 and 63, respectively) from ulcerative colitis patients (n = 31) before and after tofacitinib treatment. Response was assessed using endoscopic and clinical criteria. In vitro-derived macrophages and primary intestinal fibroblasts were used to validate our findings.

Results

Forty percent of patients responded to tofacitinib. Responders exhibited higher baseline JAK-STAT activity, while non-responders had increased baseline NF-kB pathway activation. Response was associated with significant changes in the abundance and/or activation of immune, epithelial, and stromal cells and the downregulation of S100A9, FCGR3A, MMP12 in resident macrophages. In contrast, non-responders showed a significant increase in the number and activation of macrophages and fibroblasts following tofacitinib treatment, including upregulation of MMP9, IL1B, IL6, CXCL1, CXCL8, and S100A9 compared to baseline. In monocyte-derived macrophages tofacitinib drove the hyperactivation of macrophages in response to lipopolysaccharide, but not TNF or IFNγ. This effect is dependent on the inhibition of IL-10 signaling, which is abundantly induced in response to LPS, but not to TNF or IFNγ. In contrast, cultured fibroblasts, which produced no IL-10 regardless of the stimuli, showed no hyperactivation when pre-treated with tofacitinib.

Conclusions

We conclude that resistance to tofacitinib is mediated by the hyperactivation of myeloid cells and we identify IL-10-dependent macrophages as one cellular subset contributing to this resistance.Read more ECCO Topical Review on Predictive Models on Inflammatory Bowel Disease Disease Course and Treatment ResponseSun, 04 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT by

Abstract

Background and Aims

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) poses a clinical challenge due to its variable progression and treatment response. Despite the development of predictive models, their clinical application remains limited due to validation and methodological inconsistencies. The current topical review examines existing predictive models, assesses their relevance, and discusses the barriers to their clinical implementation.

Methods

An expert panel formed by European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation, including gastroenterologists, surgeons, and clinical epidemiologists, reviewed predictive models on IBD disease course and treatment response. Delphi methodology was applied to develop practice position statements. A practice position was set when at least 80% of participants reached agreement on a recommendation.

Results

Fourteen practice positions and 2 perspective points were developed, highlighting factors included in models predicting IBD disease course and treatment response identified in the literature and barriers to clinical implementation. The appropriate methodological approaches for model development and validation have been defined, while methodological barriers to tackle have been identified. Perspectives on the inclusion of relevant biomarkers, and flexible study design have been outlined.

Conclusions

This topical review offers practice recommendations and guidance for future predictive models on IBD disease course and treatment response including their implementation in clinical practice.Read more Subcutaneous infliximab (CT-P13 SC) as maintenance therapy for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis: 2-year results from open-label extensions of two randomized controlled trials (LIBERTY)Thu, 17 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMT by

Abstract

Background and Aims

In the LIBERTY phase 3 studies in Crohn’s disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC), maintenance CT-P13 subcutaneous (SC) 120 mg was more effective than placebo after 1 year. Here we report 2-year data from the LIBERTY open-label extensions.

Methods

Two randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind studies evaluated the efficacy and safety of CT-P13 SC maintenance in moderate-to-severe CD or UC. Responders to CT-P13 intravenous induction were randomized at week (W) 10 to CT-P13 SC 120 mg or placebo biweekly, until W54. From W22, dose adjustment to CT-P13 SC 240 mg was permitted for loss of response. At W56, patients could enter an open-label extension, receiving CT-P13 SC 120 mg (or 240 mg if dose-adjusted), biweekly, until W102.

Results

The extension comprised 278/343 (81.0%) and 348/438 (79.5%) patients in the CD and UC studies, respectively. In those continuing on-study, efficacy (non-responder imputation) was well maintained in the CT-P13 SC group at W102: 63.5% (as-observed: 70.5%) and 49.0% (as-observed: 58.8%) of CD patients (N = 192) achieved clinical remission and endoscopic response, respectively; 45.1% (as-observed: 60.1%) and 41.4% (as-observed: 52.4%) of UC patients (N = 237) achieved clinical remission and endoscopic-histologic mucosal improvement, respectively. No new safety signals were identified from longer-term CT-P13 SC treatment or starting CT-P13 SC 120 mg after placebo, with similar adverse event rates for patients undergoing dose adjustment to CT-P13 SC 240 mg from CT-P13 SC 120 mg or placebo.

Conclusion

CT-P13 SC is an effective and well-tolerated long-term maintenance treatment in moderate-to-severe CD and UC.

ClinicalTrials.gov identifiers

NCT03945019 (CD) and NCT04205643 (UC).Read more Epithelial genetic muscarinic receptor 3 ablation induces sex-specific modulation of colonic intestinal progenitor cells and response to intestinal injuryFri, 07 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT by

Abstract

Background & Aims

Epithelial muscarinic acetylcholine receptor subtype 3 (M3R) signaling modulates intestinal stem and progenitor cell function, yet its impact on colonic homeostasis remains unclear. Hence, this study explores the sex-specific effects of epithelial genetic M3R ablation and muscarinic receptor agonism on murine colonic Lgr5-EGFP+ progenitor cells and epithelial homeostasis.

Methods

Genetic ablation of M3R was achieved using Vil-Cre × M3R fl/fl mice. The effects on Lgr5-expressing progenitor cells, epithelial homeostasis, and response to intestinal injury were assessed, with attention to sex-specific differences. Effects of cholinergic and muscarinic agonism on epithelial cell homeostasis were evaluated employing murine and human colonoids.

Results

Genetic epithelial ablation of the M3R employing Vil-Cre × M3R fl/fl mice interestingly resulted in the prominent reduction in Lgr5-expressing progenitor cells in male tissues, contrasting an expansion of Lgr5-expressing cells in female colonic epithelia. This difference was abrogated in young female Vil-Cre × M3R fl/fl mice, which harbor reduced circulating sex hormone levels. Genetic M3R ablation further induced changes to epithelial differentiation. Importantly, male Vil-Cre × M3R fl/fl mice developed severe inflammation following induction of acute experimental colitis, which did almost not affect female Vil-Cre × M3R fl/fl mice. Moreover, sex-specific effects of modulations of cholinergic and muscarinic signaling on epithelial cells could be corroborated in murine and human colonoids.

Conclusions

Our data reveal sex differences in the modulation of intestinal, colonic epithelial cells by cholinergic, muscarinic signaling and highlight the potential for therapeutic strategies targeting cholinergic receptor signaling in colonic inflammatory diseases.Read more Histologic and Endoscopic Findings Are Highly Correlated in a Prospective Cohort of Patients With Inflammatory Bowel DiseasesTue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT by

Abstract

Background and Aims

The advantages of endoscopic vs histologic assessments of inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease remain unclear. We compared endoscopic and histologic inflammation in a prospective cohort. Furthermore, in patients with discordant findings, we compared the ability of endoscopy vs histology to predict disease course.

Methods

Ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn’s disease (CD) patients underwent routine colonoscopies with intestinal biopsies, which included ratings of inflammation severity. Tetrachoric correlation analysis between the endoscopic and histologic inflammation ratings was performed. In postsurgical CD patients, major adverse outcomes (MAOs) were recorded.

Results

The analysis included 749 patients (60.2% CD patients), with 2807 biopsied segments. We found high concordance between endoscopist and pathologist inflammation ratings (0.84, 95% confidence interval, 0.81-0.87, p < 0.0001). Only 12.5% of biopsied segments exhibited microscopic inflammation without endoscopic inflammation. Neo-terminal ileum (neo-TI) biopsies exhibited the highest discordance; UC colonic biopsies had the highest concordance. Postsurgical CD patients who completed the 48-month follow-up (n = 138) were included in the survival analysis. The probability of MAO-free survival was significantly higher in patients with a Rutgeerts score of i0 at baseline than in those with higher scores. Microscopic inflammation in the neo-TI did not predict a higher risk of MAOs (p = 1.00).

Conclusions

In a real-world setting, endoscopic inflammation predicted histologic inflammation with high accuracy. In patients with a Rutgeerts score of i0, microscopic inflammation in neo-TI biopsies did not predict more aggressive disease behavior over the next 4 years. These results have implications for the design of clinical trials, suggesting the use of endoscopic healing as an endpoint.Read more Impact of HLADQA1*05 and HLADQA1*03 on Safety and Loss of Response to Anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel DiseaseThu, 21 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMT by

Abstract

Background

HLADQA1*05 is recently associated with heightened immunogenicity to anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNFα). We aimed to determine whether HLADQ1*05 is a risk factor for primary non-response, loss of response (LOR), or adverse events (AE) to first-line anti-TNFα in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Methods

We performed a retrospective observational study enrolling biologic naïve patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis who initiated adalimumab or infliximab from 2000 to 2021. HLA-DQA1 genotype was determined in all patients and immunogenicity in 98 patients.

Results

We enrolled 408 patients who started first-line infliximab (n = 211) and adalimumab (n = 197), with a mean follow-up of 7.6 years. Primary response at Week 24 occurred in 347 (85.0%), LOR in 133 (38.3%), and AE in 93 (22.8%). The HLADQA1*05 was identified in 185 (43.3%) patients. In multivariate analyses, no risk factors were identified for primary response. HLADQA1*05 was an independent risk factor for LOR (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] = 1.80, 95% CI = 1.21-2.67) and immunogenicity (aOR = 3.44, 95% CI = 1.12-11.92). HLADQA1*03 was a protective factor against LOR (aHR = 0.42, 95% CI = 0.20-0.88). Stratified analysis by anti-TNF type showed that HLADQA1*05 increased the risk of LOR to infliximab but not to adalimumab and HLADQA1*03 decreased the risk of LOR to adalimumab but not to infliximab. Female sex, infliximab, and the co-presentation of at least one allele of the HLADQA1*03 and HLADQA1*05 were risk factors for AE.

Conclusions

HLADQA1*05 is associated with a higher risk of LOR and immunogenicity, particularly to infliximab. HLADQA1*03 seems to play a protective role against LOR, particularly adalimumab. Female sex and infliximab are risk factors for AE.Read more

 

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ECCO IT HUB (= ECCO DATABASE) –  PRIVACY POLICY ACCORDING TO GDPR

ECCO IT HUB consists of the following organisational entities with their registered seat in 1030 Wien, Ungargasse 6/13, and is based on a joint controllership agreement according to Article 26 General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”):

• ECCO – European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation (“ECCO”), registered in the Austrian Register of Associations (ZVR) under the registration number 468755685, as well as its daughter entity:
• OCEAiN – Organisation, Congress, Emotion, Association, iNnovation GmbH (“OCEAiN”)

(together hereafter referred to as “ECCO IT HUB” or “we”).

1. Purpose

ECCO IT HUB solely processes your personal data for the purpose of:

• centralised and up-to-date data administration of ECCO Membership, Congress and event participations as well as stakeholder status in order to avoid scattering loss of up-to-date contact details among the business units of the joint data controllers

• ECCO Membership administration
• ECCO Congress abstract submission system
• ECCO Congress delegate registration
• ECCO Congress faculty registration
• ECCO Congress industry webshop and sponsor & exhibitor administration
• ECCO Virtual Congress – access administration
• ECCO Congress CME accreditation and administration
• ECCO e-Learning access administration
• ECCO Educational Workshop registration
• ECCO supplier and employee contact administration

• facilitating communication among stakeholders of the IBD Community (= the data subjects in the ECCO Database) and making relevant data visible via the ECCO Website and the ECCO App (including the display of names and affiliations of Congress speaker and ECCO Officer and the disclosure of conflicts of interest, names and affiliation)
• Promotion of ECCO Congress and Association activities
• ECCO Congress programme publication
• ECCO Congress abstract publication
• ECCO Virtual Congress platform
• ECCO Congress onsite speaker centre
• ECCO Disclosure policy of potential conflicts of interest
• ECCO Organs communication & meeting organisation
• ECCO General Assembly voting administration
• ECCO Manuscript development (Guidelines, Topical Reviews, Scientific Workshop Papers, Position Statements)
• ECCO e-Learning content development
• ECCO e-Guide content development
• Publication of ECCO News
• ECCO Website security measures and fraud prevention
• the collection and selection process with respect to open research calls, open manuscript-project calls and open calls for positions in ECCO
• Nomination collection for IBD Intensive Course for Trainees and N-ECCO School held at the annual ECCO Congress
• ECCO Organs elections - application collection
• ECCO Fellowships and Grants - application collection
• ECCO Manuscript- application collection (Guidelines, Topical Reviews, Scientific Workshop Papers, Position Statements)
• ECCO CONFER project case proposal collection
• facilitating the whole process of submission, review and publication of scientific abstracts of the annual ECCO Congress as well as facilitating the scientific review of ECCO Fellowships and Grants application
  • ECCO Congress Abstracts – scientific review
  • ECCO Fellowships and Grants – scientific review
• conducting statistical analyses and reports
• ECCO Congress, Membership and project statistics
• ECCO Website statistics for internal market research purposes
• ECCO App statistics
• ECCO Congress industry badge scanners

2. Legal basis of data collection

ECCO IT Hub only processes your personal data as follows:

• We will ask your consent to process your data in the following areas of our Website/App. You may withdraw your consent at any time. The withdrawal of your consent shall not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal:
  • ECCO Website cookies
  • ECCO Portal Account set-up
  • ECCO App installation and usage
  • ECCO e-Learning access for non-member health-care professionals until the age of 35
  • ECCO eNewsletter subscription of ECCO Portal Account Holders (without Membership)
  • Replies to open calls of ECCO (ECCO Organs, Manuscripts, Fellowships and Grants, IBD Intensive Course for Trainees, N-ECCO School, CONFER project)
  • ECCO Educational Workshop registration
  • ECCO Congress Abstract submission
  • ECCO Scientific Reviewer status
  • ECCO Congress Faculty invitations (with a separate publication consent for congress material and, for poster presentations, the consent to be contacted by delegates with regards to their poster)
  • Personal contributions to ECCO Virtual Congress
  • Publication of personal disclosure information of potential conflicts of interest, of e-Learning and e-Guide material, of ECCO manuscripts and ECCO News

 

• in performance of our (pre-)contractual obligation
  • ECCO Congress registration
  • ECCO Congress exhibition and sponsorship
  • ECCO supplier and employee contact administration

 

• on legitimate interest according to of Article 6 of the GDPR:
  • ECCO Membership administration for the fulfilment of our association purpose.

 

• Photo policy:
  • Portrait pictures are submitted by data subjects themselves or taken by the ECCO photographer are based on your explicit consent, which can be withdrawn according to point 7 below.
  • As event organisers, ECCO and OCEAiN reserve the right on their legitimate interest to use ECCO Congress photos and film footage of the official ECCO photographers and film team (as also stated in the ECCO Congress registration terms and conditions) as well as to use photos of other ECCO events in which you might be captured.

Should you have a strong objection about a specific item, you can still address ECCO Office as outlined in point 7 below.

These photos and film footage are intended for reporting about the event on the ECCO Website, in the ECCO eNewsletters, in promotional material (such as Congress break slide) and in printing material (such as the ECCO Anniversary Book series). 

3. Data categories: What kind of data?

Your personal data will not be subject to further processing in a way and manner that are incompatible with the intended purposes listed above.

ECCO Website

ECCO IT Hub processes the IP address of ECCO Website visitors and cookie information chosen by you and as explained in the cookies setting banner:

• The IP address is transmitted with every server request. ECCO IT Hub and its provider of statistical services do not store IP addresses permanently, but use them for session identification purposes and to prevent attacks only. The following information will be stored in the server logs: the IP address of the requesting computer, together with the date, time, which file is requested (name and URL), what amount of data is transferred to you, a message as to whether the request was successful, identification data of the browser used and the operating system used, as well as the website from which access was made (if access is via a link).

 

• The ECCO Website uses Matomo Analytics software, which relies on cookies as well. They are stored on your computer and generate information for the analysis of the ECCO webpages used by you (including your IP address in anonymised form), which is stored on a server located in Austria.

 

• During your visit to the ECCO Website, some information is collected and analysed for web controlling purposes. This information is provided by your browser. The following data are collected:
  • Requests (file name of the requested file) (e.g., beispiel.de/index.html)
  • Browser type/browser version (e.g., Internet Explorer 6.0)
  • Browser language (e.g., English)
  • Operating system used (e.g., Windows XP)
  • Inner resolution of browser window
  • Screen resolution
  • JavaScript activation
  • Java on /off
  • Cookies on / off
  • Colour depth
  • Referrer URL (the previously visited web site)
  • Time of access
  • Clicks
  • Total orders, if any
  • Content of forms, if any (in the case of text fields, e.g. name and password, only the information “completed“ or “not completed“ is transmitted)
  • The ECCO Website relies on several so-called cookies, which are small text files that are placed on your computer and saved by your browser ( - access all cookie details under the cookie banner). Cookies cannot be used to identify specific individuals and do not contain personal data. Most of the cookies used are so-called “session cookies” that are deleted at the end of your browser session. In addition, there are some persistent cookies used to recognize you as a returning visitor to the website.

 

ECCO Portal Account Holders in ECCO IT Hub

ECCO IT Hub processes the following personal data as provided by you in setting up an ECCO Portal Account and choosing to participate in further interactions:

• name,
• email
• addresse(s)
• phone number(s)
• postal addresse(s)
• fax
• gender
• date of birth
• age
• profession
• professional specialization
• expertise & particular areas of interest
• HCP (health care professional) status,
• your ECCO Membership status (which may also be published once per year with names per country in the context of the ECCO Congress),
• applications to open calls, event and project participation(s)
• disclosures of potential conflicts of interest,
• reimbursement data,
• portrait pictures and event photos and film footage
• passport details for congress invitation letters.
• In addition, the scientific review process generates a review result for the submitters of abstracts and applications for fellowships and grants which will be stored in connection with the abstract submitted via the submitter’s account.
• The election process generates a ranking result which is kept confidential within ECCO Office archives.

If you participate in the ECCO App and/or an ECCO virtual event, you can choose to share your personal information as well as your opinion in public debates with the other participants.

• The content of all postings and the contribution to public debates is solely your responsibility as participant who chose to actively share information. Neither ECCO or OCEAiN nor their expert volunteers or staff members can be held liable for this posted content, while ECCO and OCEAiN reserve the right to edit, rectify or delete postings of participants for good faith or legal reason.
  • Self-management of consent-based data of ECCO Portal Account used for single-sign on solution in ECCO App: your first name, last name, and email address (= you can reject that the ECCO Portal data is shared with the ECCO App)
  • Self-management of data storage and data subject rights (= the users can delete themselves): social media, website, address, job title, biography, company, country, topics of interest, portrait picture, written chat contributions
  • No data storage; self-management of data subject rights in live engagement (= you can decide themselves when to turn on/off the camera/mic/screen sharing): camera image, audio transmission, image and screen sharing
  • While text postings on the social wall can be deleted by you on your own (= self-management of data subject rights) and with this deletion also the answer comments, you cannot delete on your own your answer-comments to postings.

You may withdraw your consent regarding consent based data at any time. The withdrawal of your consent shall not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

4. Data received from third parties (Article 14 of the GDPR)

Please note that in the context of the following group registration, nomination and submission processes, ECCO IT HUB received your personal data via the contact person of the respective group registration:

• Membership Group Registrations
  • Source of the data: tour operator agencies booking group memberships
  • Purpose: invitation to pre-paid ECCO Membership
  • Legal Basis: consent of data subject to tour operator agencies booking group registrations; these tour operators are under a contractual obligation with ECCO to collect your consent for this registration in advance.
  • Data categories processed: last name, email address and country

 

• Congress Group Registrations
  • Source of the data: tour operator agencies booking group registrations
  • Purpose: invitation to pre-paid ECCO Congress Registration
  • Legal Basis: consent of data subject to tour operator agencies booking group registrations; these tour operators are under a contractual obligation with OCEAiN to collect your consent for this registration in advance.
  • Data categories processed: last name, email address and country, badge-pick-up and certificates of attendances of their invited delegates in tour operator profile

 

• Nomination process of the candidates for the IBD Intensive Course for Trainees
  • Source of the data: National Representatives of ECCO Country Members
  • Purpose: invitation to free-of-charge educational course at ECCO Congress
  • Legal Basis: consent of data subject to respective ECCO National Representative submitting nominations for this course; legitimate interest of data subject to be admitted to this selective course.
  • Data categories processed: first name, last name, email address, city, country, years of experience, letter of intent

 

• Nomination process of candidates for the N-ECCO School
  • Source of the data: N-ECCO National Representatives of ECCO Country Members
  • Purpose: invitation to free-of-charge educational course at ECCO Congress
  • Legal Basis: consent of data subject to respective ECCO National Representative submitting nominations for this course; legitimate interest of data subject to be admitted to this selective course.
  • Data categories processed: first name, last name, email address, city, country, phone number

 

• Congress Abstract submission process for an author group
  • Source of the data: Abstract submitter
  • Purpose: participation in the abstract selection for Abstract presentations at the ECCO Congress
  • Legal Basis: consent of data subject to submitting author of the author group; legitimate interest of data subject to participate in this scientific abstract selection.
  • Data categories processed: first name, last name, email address, institute, department, city, country, conflicts of interest

Please note that data subjects of such group registrations are contacted by ECCO Office within the first month with full transparency about this general ECCO Privacy Policy outlined here. 

As a data subject, you can address the contact point and data protection officers indicated above as well as the data protection authority indicated below.

5. Data recipients and sub-processors:

• European recipients and sub-processors:

In order to adequately fulfil the intended purposes listed above, ECCO IT Hub contracts primarily data processors based in the European Union – including but not limited to:

• COVR / Netropolix : https://www.netropolix.be/ for the customer management system of the ECCO Database
• SOL4: https://www.sol4.at/ for ECCO Website Support
• Conference Compass: https://www.conferencecompass.com/ for the ECCO App software
• Rapidmail: rapidmail.de for ECCO eNewsletter distribution,
• Viveum: www.viveum.com  as ePayment system on the ECCO Website
• GTN: https://gtn-solutions.com/ as e-Learning platform support

 

In the group registration processes, group leaders have a restricted duplicate-check option via entering the correct email address and name.

• Non-European recipients and sub-processors:

 

• In case applications are submitted to the scientific review in the context of Fellowships and Grants application reviews and the Congress Abstract reviews, this process includes individual experts from outside of Europe.

 

• In case that Educational Workshops take place outside of Europe, the registration lists for this respective Workshop are shared with the local organiser.

 

• The ECCO Virtual Congress and event platform relies on some US-based IT Services such as the Vimeo video player and the Zoom online conference platform as well as on European IT Services with US-based sub-processors such as chat tools (incl. Slido: https://www.sli.do/ and Conference Compass: https://www.conferencecompass.com/  ) and networking tools. Online educational events will rely on a selection of these services as well.

 

• The ECCO Virtual Congress platform - and the online exhibition in particular - also features links to external company websites and chat tools – which are declared as such. This privacy policy and the terms and conditions of the ECCO Virtual Congress do not apply to these external websites, which need to be consulted separately for cookie and data protection policies. These websites are not within the responsibility of ECCO and OCEAiN, who may therefore not be held liable.

 

In case you explicitly consent to badge scanning in the ECCO Congress exhibition or satellite symposia, we transfer your personal data (Name; Contact details) to the exhibition or sponsor companies of the congress, some of which do have their head-quarters in the USA.  The current list of exhibitors can be found on the annual Congress Website (accessible via https://www.ecco-ibd.eu/congresses-and-events.html )  in the exhibitor section. You may withdraw your consent at any time. The withdrawal of your consent shall not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

6. Data storage time-frame:

ECCO IT Hub of course also observes the principle of storage limitation for personal data.

• IP address of ECCO Website visitors: The server logs are saved in order to be able to check the system security, to administrate the website technically and to be able to optimize the offer. The server logs are stored for the duration of 3 months. After this period the identity of the user can no longer be determined, even by ISPs.
• Anonymised IP address storage in the Matomo Analytics software of the ECCO Website: 24 months
• ECCO IT Hub will process the following data of Portal Account Holders until withdrawal of consent, but not longer than for 7 years:
  • name,
  • email
  • addresse(s)
  • phone number(s)
  • postal addresse(s)
  • fax
  • gender
  • date of birth
  • age
  • profession
  • professional specialization
  • expertise & particular areas of interest
  • HCP (health care professional) status,
  • your ECCO Membership status (which may also be published once per year with names per country in the context of the ECCO Congress),
  • applications to open calls, event and project participation(s)
  • disclosures of potential conflicts of interest,
  • reimbursement data
  • passport details for congress invitation letters.
  • In addition, the scientific review process generates a review result for the submitters of abstracts and applications for fellowships and grants which will be stored in connection with the abstract submitted via the submitter’s account.
  • The election process generates a ranking result which is kept confidential within ECCO Office archives.

• Beyond that time, ECCO IT Hub will only process your data (including photographs and video material) for association archive purposes, or if we are obliged to process your personal data by law.

Personal (non-scientific) supporting documents (such as letters of intent, CVs, publication lists), submitted in the context of applications to open calls, event and project participation(s)are stored not longer than 3 years.

7. Your rights as data subject:

Should you be affected by our processing of personal data, you have the right at any time to request access to, rectification, or erasure of personal data, or restriction of the processing concerning your personal data or to object to processing as well as the right to data portability.

As data subject, you may withdraw your consent for

• ECCO Website cookies (via deinstallation on user side)
• ECCO Portal Account set-up
• ECCO App installation and usage (via deinstallation on user side)
• ECCO e-Learning access for non-member health-care professionals until the age of 35
• ECCO eNewsletter subscription of ECCO Portal Account Holders (without Membership)
• Replies to open calls of ECCO (ECCO Organs, Manuscripts, Fellowships and Grants, IBD Intensive Course for Trainees, N-ECCO School, CONFER project)
• ECCO Educational Workshop registration
• ECCO Congress Abstract submission
• ECCO Scientific Reviewer status
• ECCO Congress Faculty invitations (with a separate publication consent for congress material)
• Personal contributions to ECCO Virtual Congress
• Publication of personal disclosure information of potential conflicts of interest, of e-Learning and e-Guide material, of ECCO manuscripts and ECCO News
• ECCO Congress – Industry Badge Scanner consent
• Portrait pictures (and event photos and film footage)

from ECCO IT HUB to process your personal data at any time under This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by postal mail to ECCO Office, Ungargasse 6/13, A-1030 Vienna, Austria.

Please note that the withdrawal of your consent shall not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal, and that in certain circumstances ECCO IT Hub is entitled or else required to process certain forms of personal data for a period extending beyond the withdrawal of consent, either due to our contractual relationship with you, or else due to legal requirements.

According to Art. 13 (2) e GDPR, you are not obliged to agree to the processing of your data. However, please also note

• that in case of the withdrawal of consent you will not be able to benefit or use all functions of ECCO IT Hub;
• that in case of disagreement with the processing of necessary data for (pre-) contractual obligations, the business transaction cannot be implemented;
• that in case you disagree with the legitimate interest according to of Article 6 of the GDPR regarding ECCO Membership, you will not be able to become an ECCO Member.

You directly access and modify your information via your personal log-in under the following link: https://cm.ecco-ibd.eu/cmgateway/member/NW/index.html?module=relationmanager&config=normal#manageprofiles.

In case you believe that the processing of your personal data does not comply with the provisions of data protection, you can – other legal remedies in law courts or under administrative law notwithstanding – make a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State of your habitual residence, place of work or place of the alleged infringement. In Austria, the supervisory authority is the Austrian Data Protection Authority (Österreichische Datenschutzbehörde).

According to Art. 13 (2) f GDPR, ECCO IT HUB does not generate automatic decisions including data profiling.

8. Nature of joint data processing by ECCO and OCEAiN:

The essence of the ECCO IT Hub arrangement according to Article 26 GDPR:

(Updated with JCA revised text per March 15, 2020)

DESCRIPTION OF JOINT DATA PROCESSING OPERATIONS:

The ECCO Database constitutes the core for all projects on the side of ECCO Association as well the side of OCEAiN GmbH, who is in charge of organising the annual ECCO Congress, the e-Learning platform and publishing the ECCO News magazine.

As the ECCO Congress constitutes the annual meeting of the ECCO Members and other stakeholders in the field of inflammatory bowel diseases, the ECCO Database has a significant intersection set of data subjects as the same data subjects can be ECCO Members and Congress Delegates. 

The data subjects in the ECCO Database are health care professionals, pharma industry representatives, patient representatives and students in the field of inflammatory bowel diseases with an interest in both ECCO Association activities and ECCO Congress and e-Learning activities. In addition, the ECCO Database captures press contacts, as well as employees and contact persons of tour operator agencies booking group registrations and of supplier companies, which are contracted to implement projects of ECCO and OCEAiN. 

MEANS OF JOINT DATA PROCESSING OPERATIONS: 

With the increasingly enhanced digitalisation of the joint data processing operations over the past years, the ECCO Website with a Login-Area called the ECCO Portal constitutes the main entrance door to all activities of ECCO and OCEAiN.

The ECCO Portal Account is the “front” side entrance door to and, after personal Login-In, the front side display of the respective personal data-set captured in the ECCO Database.

As soon as an ECCO Portal Account holder applies for ECCO Membership or engages in another activity, joint processing takes place in the ECCO Database: the use of synergy effects in data harmonization also aims to facilitate access of  data subjects to activities within the larger framework of ECCO IT Hub (e.g. distribution of our newsletters, promotion of our Congress and educational/scientific activities, access facilitation via the publisher/distributor of our publications). 

Depending on the status of the data subject (e.g.: Membership status, Congress Registration statutes, Scientific Reviewer Status), the data subject can access various online tools (e.g.: online application process per open call, registration process for workshops or ECCO Congress, industry webshop)  and various levels of online content (e.g.: applications received for internal or scientific review, e-Learning material, meeting documents).

Most of the functionalities are directly provided by the ECCO Database suppliers and do not need data transfers to other suppliers.

The ECCO Website and the ECCO Database are hosted on a rented ECCO Server space in Austria.

Additional Platforms and technology needed are solved with a single-sign on technology with the ECCO Database, which are in particular

• the ePayment tool used to process online credit card payments for ECCO Membership and ECCO Congress Registrations.
• the e-Learning platform which is accessible to all ECCO Members and also to health care professionals as ECCO Portal Account holders without active ECCO Membership up to the age of 35. The single-sign on mechanism is based on an age check, which takes place within the ECCO Database before the access interface is enabled to the e-Learning Platform.
• the ECCO App: upon installation of the ECCO App (offering a dedicated section for ECCO Association and another dedicated section for the annual Congress) on the data subject’s mobile device, first name, last name and email address is shared with the App provider company to allow the single-sign-on mechanism. In case of additional consent of the data subject chosen in  the settings of the App, the personal status (of Membership or Congress Delegates) can be shared in order to be visible for a chat-function tool.

 

In addition, two further joint data processing platforms are used to facilitate project management and communication:

• the ECCO Office inhouse server
• the eNewsletter Mailing Platform

PURPOSE OF JOINT DATA PROCESSING OPERATIONS: please refer to point 1 above.

CATEGORIES OF DATA PROCESSED UNDER THIS AGREEMENT: please refer to point 3 above.

DATA STORAGE LIMITATION: please refer to point 6 above.

ALLOCATION OF DATA PROTECTION TASKS/DUTIES (under Art. 26 GDPR)

The data protection tasks done jointly are

• provision of information according to Article 26 paragraph 2 sentence 2 GDPR
• common contact point for the fulfilment of data subjects’ requests,
• information obligation according to Article 13 / 14 GDPR,
• fulfilment of the request of access,
• fulfilment of the request of rectification,
• fulfilment of the request of erasure and restriction of processing,
• notification to recipients (Article 19 GDPR),
• fulfilment of the request of data portability, processing of withdrawals,
• implementation of technical and organisational measures (Article 32 GDPR),
• review and adaption of technical and organisational measures,
• maintenance of a record of processing activities

 

The data protection tasks done separately are:

• selection and assignment of data processors
• processing of notifiable data breaches

 

CONTACT POINT ACCORDING TO ARTICLE 13, 14 and 26 GDPR:

ECCO Office
Ungargasse 6/13, A-1030 Vienna, Austria.
Tel: +43-(0)1-710 2242-0
Fax: +43-(0)1-710 2242-001

E-Mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Data ProTection Officer ACCORDING TO ARTICLE 37 GDPR:

Knyrim Trieb Rechtsanwälte OG

Mariahilfer Straße 89a, A-1060 Wien

T: +43 1 909 30 70, F: +43 1 9093639

E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., W: www.kt.at

FN 462250f, HG Wien