Y-ECCO

For this Y-ECCO Interview Corner we met with Shaji Sebastian, who is known to everyone as Seb, on the Friday of the ECCO Congress. Seb has had a long association with ECCO. He is the outgoing Chair of ClinCom and was elected as Treasurer of ECCO at this year’s General Assembly. He is a consultant in Hull in the North of England, having got there through a somewhat circuitous route, as we will hear...

The SONIC trial yielded seminal findings showing that the combination of infliximab and azathioprine is more effective than either treatment alone for the maintenance of remission in patients with Crohn’s Disease (CD) [1]. In recent years, despite the availability of an increasing number of biologics and small molecules to treat CD, a ceiling of therapeutic efficacy has been reached [2]. Therefore, there has been a resurgence of interest in whether this therapeutic ceiling “effect” can be overcome with new treatment combinations.

Despite an expanding therapeutic arsenal, a considerable proportion of patients with Crohn's Disease (CD) and Ulcerative Colitis (UC) fail to achieve or sustain therapeutic responses [1, 2]. Mechanisms contributing to this failure, particularly with respect to biologic therapy, are only partially understood [3]. Uncovering the mechanisms behind loss of response may help to enhance the efficacy of existing treatment options or to develop alternative options for the future.

Patients will often ask, “What causes Inflammatory Bowel Disease?” Frustratingly, we remain unable to answer this seemingly simple question, beyond the often-quoted paradigm that unknown environmental factors trigger inflammation in genetically susceptible individuals. Although our understanding of the immune response in IBD has reached phenomenally detailed levels of resolution, the nature and identity of the initial environmental triggers of IBD have continued to remain a mystery.

The Y-ECCO Science Workshop celebrated its 10th edition during the recent ECCO Congress in Stockholm. Held on February 21, 2024, the workshop invited young basic scientists to present and discuss their research with peers and senior opinion leaders. This year’s edition proved a tremendous success, inspiring Y-ECCO Members with a friendly yet intellectually stimulating atmosphere and encouraging them to broaden their knowledge and to prepare for more challenging research steps.

Dear Y-ECCO Friends, I hope you are all doing well and enjoyed an insightful and interesting ECCO Congress in Stockholm recently. At ECCO 2024, the Y-ECCO Team had to say goodbye to our outgoing Chair, Mark Samaan, who has been exemplary in the role over the past year. On behalf of the entire Y-ECCO Community, thanks Mark! It has been an absolute pleasure working with you, while further expanding the committee under your leadership.