Fernando Magro © ECCO

Dear Colleagues,

Dear ECCO Family,

As we look back on the 20th Congress of the European Crohn's and Colitis Organisation (ECCO), held in Berlin from February 19 to 22, 2025, I am deeply grateful and proud for all that we have accomplished together. Centred around the theme "Sustainability in IBD and beyond", the Congress underscored our shared commitment to fostering long-term strategies in IBD care. The scientific programme featured a rich and varied selection of sessions, covering the latest advances in IBD care, innovative monitoring tools and sustainable surgical practices. In addition, collaborative sessions, such as the ESGE–ECCO joint discussion on endoscopy, highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary approaches in achieving sustainable patient outcomes.

The 20^th Congress of ECCO, Berlin, Germany – Inflammatory Bowel Diseases 2025, held on February 19-22, 2025, attracted a total number of 8,311 delegates from 99 different countries. Since the inaugural ECCO Congress in 2006 in Amsterdam, at which there were 350 delegates, participant numbers have steadily increased, as shown in the graph below. Despite the COVID-19 outbreak in the beginning of 2020, we are happy that this high number of delegates had the chance to participate in the ECCO’25 Congress in Berlin.

Spyros Siakavellas  © ECCO

Dear IBD colleagues, dear ECCO friends and family,

I hope everyone is keeping well and looking forward to all the exciting opportunities and offers that ECCO has in store for the rest of the year!

But first let me bring you back to our flagship event, the ECCO Congress which took place in Berlin, February 19 - 22, earlier this year. This being the 20th iteration of the Congress, it was an important milestone in the journey of ECCO through the years. Needless to say, it didn’t disappoint us with a record-breaking number of 1534 accepted abstracts and with a high quality educational and scientific programme it provided a great platform for sharing and exchanging valuable knowledge.

Tauseef Sharip  © ECCO

Dear ECCO friends,

Welcome to the first edition of ECCO News for 2025! We hope this newsletter finds you well and thriving as we embark on another exciting year for the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation.

 We were thrilled to reconnect with so many of you at the recent ECCO congress in Berlin, which proved to be a remarkable gathering filled with insightful discussions. As we reflect on the success of ECCO 2025, we are eager to share key highlights, including groundbreaking research, innovative presentations, and updates on our ongoing initiatives aimed at advancing the understanding and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. We are sharing the highlights from the top 15 winning digital presentations on this edition. We encourage you to reach out to the ECCO Office if there are specific topics or content you would like to see featured in our future newsletters.

Warm regards,

Mohmmed Tauseef Sharip

Edouard Louis © ECCO

Dear Alessandro,

Congratulations again on your election as the new President-Elect of ECCO.

Dear friends and colleagues,

Thank you very much for your kind congratulations on my election as the new President-Elect of ECCO. It is a tremendous honour and responsibility, and I look forward to working closely with all of you to advance the mission and impact of ECCO in the Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) arena.

Congratulations to the winners of the ECCO Fellowships and Grants awarded at ECCO’25 in snowy Berlin this year.  ECCO is investing up to EUR 1.8 million in scientific research. Learn more here about the new projects that will be supported by ECCO in 2025.  At ECCO’25, Berlin, the winners of the ECCO Fellowships and Grants programme received their certificates, presented by Fernando Magro together with Britta Siegmund.

Murat Toruner © ECCO

Two studies received Best Investigator-Initiated Study Awards at ECCO’25. 

The first study, entitled “Low remission recapture after ustekinumab dose optimization in Crohn’s disease: results of the randomized placebo-controlled double-blind REScUE study”, was led by Peter Bossuyt and colleagues from Belgium.

A total of 130 abstracts focused on epidemiology were selected for presentation at the 2025 ECCO Congress, the highest number submitted in this category in recent years.

This growth underscores the importance that ECCO Members and IBD researchers place on epidemiology in deepening our understanding of IBD aetiology, management and outcomes. In this article, we spotlight some of the most noteworthy abstracts that stood out to us during the recent ECCO Congress in Berlin (see graph). 

Glen Doherty © ECCO

The 23^rd ECCO IBD Intensive Course for Trainees took place on February 19, 2025, setting the scene for the 20^th ECCO Congress in Berlin. It may have been cold outside, but this did not dampen the enthusiasm of the participants or the engagement of the expert ECCO Faculty. A total of 100 participants from 36 countries were in attendance and this year we again welcomed participants not only from European ECCO Country Members but also from Latin America, Asia and Australia. As always, the programme was intensive, allowing participants to immerse themselves in a comprehensive update on IBD management.

Manuel Barreiro-de Acosta © ECCO

The 4^th ECCO Postgraduate Course in IBD was successfully held on-site during the 20^th ECCO Congress in Berlin in February 2025. The course was split into two sessions, with the first session, entitled “Prepare yourself with the experts”, focusing on common complications in IBD practice, which were presented by renowned speakers who are key opinion leaders in the field. The second session, entitled “Case-based discussion with IBD Experts”, was an interactive session with expert panelists, who discussed two vignettes that looked at practical assessment and decision making in the context of complicated Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis.