ClinCom

Introduction Over the past two decades, advances in immunomodulatory and biologic therapies have significantly improved clinical and endoscopic remission rates in IBD. However, many patients continue to experience fatigue, anxiety, depression and impaired quality of life, even during apparent disease remission. This discrepancy highlights the need for a holistic approach—one that acknowledges the complex interplay between immunological, psychological, nutritional and social determinants of health. Despite increasing recognition of its importance, holistic care in IBD remains under-researched a

In order to achieve the ECCO REACH strategy, one of our most valuable assets remains the collective expertise and patient populations represented across European IBD National Study Groups. This issue of ECCO News highlights the ongoing opportunities for collaborative research through the ECCO National Study Group network and annual meeting, which takes place during the ECCO Congress.

In June 2023, SciCom selected a joint proposal from Shaji Sebastian (then a ClinCom Member, now a Governing Board Member) and the H-ECCO Chair, Aart Mookhoek, addressing the present and future directions of artificial intelligence (AI) in IBD at the frontiers of imaging (endoscopy, radiology, histology), big data, predictive models, drug discovery and both ethical and regulatory considerations.

During ECCO’25, the ECCO Clinical Research Committee (ClinCom) took the lead in organising two highly engaging and insightful educational sessions: the 6th School for Clinical Trialists and the 1st Educational Course for Industry Partners.

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.

The new REACH strategy was launched at ECCO’24 in Stockholm by ECCO President Britta Siegmund. The acronym defines the goals for ECCO Activities over the next five years.

IBD manifests with numerous faces. It became clear some time ago that only by joining forces across multiple countries would we perhaps be able to identify and study rare manifestations of IBD and its complications. This was the reason why the CONFER taskforce (COllaborative Network For Exceptionally Rare case reports) was initiated under the auspices of the ClinCom committee.

During the last ECCO’24 Congress in Stockholm, the ECCO Governing Board announced the new strategy REACH. The REACH strategy is the acronym of five clear goals to shape the current and future ECCO activities for the next years, better defining and expanding ECCO global mission to improve the care for all IBD patients...

Dear IBD Friends and Colleagues, ClinCom organised two courses at the recent 19th Congress of ECCO in Stockholm. The first course was the 9th ClinCom Workshop, which comprised two sessions and attracted 39 participants.