Silvio Danese  ©  ECCO

Dear ECCO friends,

Improving the care of IBD patients is one of ECCO’s most valuable purposes. This goal is achieved through enhancement of our knowledge of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. Two programmes highlighted in this issue of ECCO News move in this direction: The UR-CARE database, which seeks to achieve this goal through intense collaboration between researchers in Europe via a shared database, and the e-CCO Learning Platform, which many of you had the opportunity to experience during the 13th ECCO Congress in Vienna. This intiative is particularly exciting because it offers physicians a tool to fill in learning gaps using the ECCO IBD Curriculum. Both of these tools will contribute to reinforce the excellence of IBD centres.

The Scientific Programme of the 14^th Congress of ECCO provides attendees the unique opportunity to learn from the world’s leading specialists in the field of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. Held from Thursday to Saturday, March 7-9, 2019, the Scientific Programme is structured around basic science, translational medicine and clinical sessions. Additionally, it includes oral presentations of the 38 best abstracts of the Congress. The focus of all sessions is clinical practice founded on science with practical take home messages and, as every year, the congress registration fee includes access to all scientific sessions.

Register now and seize the opportunity to hear current and relevant studies from international experts in IBD!

The educational programme of the 14^th Congress of ECCO starts prior to the official start of the ECCO Congress and courses take place from March 6-8, 2019. These activities are targeted towards ECCO’s different interest groups including young gastroenterologists, surgeons, paediatricians, IBD nurses, dietitians and allied health professionals and scientists.

An overview of these activities can be found below. Please note that some of these courses/workshops run in parallel and that some have a limited capacity – please register at your earliest convenience.

We look forward to seeing you in Copenhagen!

Janneke van der Woude © ECCO

During the ECCO’18 Vienna Congress the Scientific Committee cordially welcomed Michael Scharl and Sebastian Zeissig as new members.

In faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) for Ulcerative Colitis, Fusobacterium is associated with lack of remission, while metabolic shifts to starch degradation and short chain fatty acid production are associated with remission (FOCUS study)

Sudarshan Paramsothy © ECCO

The randomised controlled FOCUS study [1], along with other trials [2–4], suggests that FMT is effective in the treatment of patients with active Ulcerative Colitis (UC). However, the underlying microbial basis and predictors of therapeutic outcome in UC are largely unknown. We therefore performed in-depth microbial analyses on the samples collected during the FOCUS study to help identify bacterial taxonomic and functional changes associated with FMT in UC, particularly those predictive of therapeutic success or failure.

The PANTS study

Nicholas Kennedy © ECCO

Use of the anti-TNF alpha monoclonal antibodies infliximab and adalimumab has transformed the management of patients with refractory Crohn’s Disease. However, clinicians and patients are all too aware that anti-TNF treatment failure is common: 10%–40% of patients fail to respond to induction therapy (referred to as primary non-response: PNR), up to 40% of patients suffer secondary loss of response in the first year of therapy and approximately 10% suffer an adverse drug reaction that curtails treatment.

Naila Arebi © ECCO

Collaborations are the cornerstone of research studies – from inception of the idea to execution of the project, culminating in the final research goal of generating and sharing new knowledge. Information technology has transformed the way we collaborate, opening up new avenues for collaboration through enhanced remote communication between researchers as well as easier collation and sharing of research data across centres.

Peter Irving © ECCO

Dear ECCO Friends,

The purpose of e-CCO is to improve knowledge, to enhance the educational experience and to equalise access to advanced learning opportunities in IBD for our members and throughout the world. I am pleased to be able to highlight, therefore, how the e-Learning Taskforce continues to work hard to keep the e-CCO Learning site up to date with the aim of achieving these goals.

April 28, 2018

The primary goal of ECCO Educational Workshops is to harmonise IBD practices within ECCO Member Countries by presenting the practical use of the ECCO Guidelines on Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. Additionally, these 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 from top gastroenterologists in Europe.

Kay Greveson © ECCO

The first update of the N-ECCO Consensus Statements on the European nursing roles in caring for patients with Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis was completed in 2018, led by one of the previous N-ECCO Chairs, Karen Kemp. 

The Consensus document focusses on the fundamental IBD nursing role and the role of the advanced Inflammatory Bowel Disease nurse, looking at factors that are more complex and need advanced IBD knowledge.

Rotem Sigall-Boneh © ECCO

In recent years, there has been increasing evidence that diet has an important role in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and their management, from the pathogenesis of disease through to treatment and supportive therapy. Exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN) is a well-established dietary therapy that leads to induction of remission and also is associated with mucosal healing in patients with Crohn’s Disease (CD), especially in children. However, adherence to this therapy is low and it is difficult to maintain EEN for a long period. The mechanism by which EEN works is still elusive but several possibilities have been suggested. Accordingly, many groups have sought different dietary strategies to treat patients with CD or UC with several goals: Induction of remission, maintenance of remission and management of gastrointestinal symptoms.

Yves Panis © ECCO

As Chair of the S-ECCO Committee, it is my pleasure to introduce two newly elected members for 2018: Christianne Buskens and Hagit Tulchinsky. Thus, as of today, the members of the S-ECCO Committee are: Antonino Spinelli (Milan, Italy; member until March 2019), Yves Panis (Clichy, France; Chair until February 2020), Michel Adamina (Winterthur, Switzerland; member until February 2020) and Christianne Buskens and Hagit Tulchinsky. Both Christianne and Hagit will stay for 3 years, until February 2021.

Lissy de Ridder © ECCO

Paediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) accounts for 10%–15% of all incident cases of IBD, while the incidence in children under 10 years old is rising most rapidly [1, 2]. Children and adolescents present with a more severe phenotype of disease and have both higher and unique risks (e.g. fistulising disease, growth failure, pubertal delay) and a longer disease duration, given that IBD is a lifelong disease. 

Magali Svrcek © ECCO

In addition to the “classical” pathway of colorectal carcinogenesis, involving development of cancer from an adenomatous precursor lesion, an alternative pathway, the serrated pathway, is now recognised to exist, and it is estimated that approximately 30% of colorectal cancers (CRC) arise via this alternative pathway [1]. In the last WHO classification, serrated polyps were classified as (i) hyperplastic polyps (HP), (ii) sessile serrated adenoma/polyps (SSA/P), with or without dysplasia, and (iii) traditional serrated adenomas (TSA). The possibility of a serrated pathway has also been suggested in colorectal carcinoma complicating Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) [2–4]. Little is known concerning immunohistochemical and molecular features of serrated lesions in IBD: Data are limited to small series of patients or case reports and findings are controversial due to the rarity of the cases. However, the clinical, pathological and biological characteristics of serrated polyps in patients with IBD do seem to resemble those of their sporadic counterparts.

Nuha Yassin © ECCO

Dear Y-ECCO Friends,

Greetings fellow Y-ECCOs. I hope you are all enjoying some warmth after the prolonged winter. The Young ECCO Committee (Y-ECCO) has been using the cold winter time well, wrapped up indoors and brewing up a couple of brand new hot beverages for you as we continue to strive to provide Y-ECCO Members with the best possible offers.

Nuha Yassin © ECCO

With the Y-ECCO Interview corner, we travel the world and share the thoughts of some of the most inspirational IBD leaders. Today we travel to Australia in order to share the IBD journey of a very successful and inspirational IBD leader, Professor Jane Andrews, who is head of the IBD service and Education in the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at The Royal Adelaide Hospital in Australia and a clinical professor at the School of Medicine, University of Adelaide.

Valentina Petito © Valentina Petito

Uncoupling of mucosal gene regulation, mRNA splicing and adherent microbiota signatures in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Häsler R, Sheibani-Tezerji R, Sinha A, Barann M, Rehman A, Esser D, Aden K, Knecht C, Brandt B, Nikolaus S, Schäuble S, Kaleta C, Franke A, Fretter C, Müller W, Hütt MT, Krawczak M, Schreiber S, Rosenstiel P
Gut. 2017;66:2087–2097. doi:10.1136/gutjnl-2016-311651

Viktor Domislović  © Viktor Domislović

Cumulative burden of inflammation predicts colorectal neoplasia risk in Ulcerative Colitis: A large single-centre study

Choi CR, Al Bakir I, Ding NJ, Lee GH, Askari A, Warusavitarne J, Moorghen M, Humphries A, Ignjatovic-Wilson A, Thomas-Gibson S, Saunders BP, Rutter MD, Graham TA, Hart AL
Gut. 2017 Nov 17. pii: gutjnl-2017-314190. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2017-314190.

Cyprus

Name of group: Cyprus Gastroenterology Society
Number of active members: 45
Number of meetings per year: 12
President: Andreas Evgeniou
Secretary: Adamos Saveriades
National Representatives: Ioannis Kaimakliotis, Theodora Demetriou and Anastasia Nicolaou
Joined ECCO in:  2007
Incidence of IBD in the country (if available): 
31/100,000 (approximation, not based on Ministry of Health epidemiological report, which is pending)

Israel

Name of group: IBD Society
Number of active members: 40
Number of meetings per year: 2
President: Yehuda Chowers
Secretary: Eran Israeli
National Representatives: Matti Waterman and Henit Yanai
Joined ECCO in:  2006
Incidence of IBD in the country (if available): 27/100,000

Moldova

Name of group: IBD Group of the Moldovan Association of Gastroenterology and Hepatology 
Number of active members: Five active members in IBD Group, 109 members of the Moldovan Association of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Number of meetings per year: 3-4
National Representatives: Svetlana Turcan and Eugen Tcaciuc
Joined ECCO in:  2015
Incidence of IBD in the country (if available): 
2009–2017: 4.8 per 100,000 inhabitants

Portugal

Name of group: Grupo de Estudos de Doença Inflamatória Intestinal (Study Group of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases) - GEDII
Number of active members:300
Number of meetings per year: 2
President: Luís Correia
Secretary: Paula Ministro
National Representatives: Ana Isabel Vieira and Isadora Rosa
Joined ECCO in:  2004
Incidence of IBD in the country (if available): 
14/100,000 habitants