The prognostic value of faecal calprotectin for long-term outcomes in ulcerative colitis

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting around 2% of the general population in North America and Western Europe, and its incidence is rising worldwide. UC is an inflammatory bowel disease, which causes irritation, inflammation, and ulcers in the lining of your large intestine. Patients with UC have heterogenous prognosis: some patients have good long-term outcomes after initiation treatment, while some will suffer from relapsing and exacerbated disease courses. Therefore, predicting the prognosis of UC patients is important for selecting optimal treatment approaches and conducting personalized management. Nowadays, identifying effective indicators for predicting the prognosis in UC is receiving more and more attention. Faecal calprotectin, is a protein that your body releases in your excrement when there is inflammation in your intestines. It is an inflammatory biomarker that can be used to assess disease activity and predict relapse in UC. However, the prognostic values of faecal calprotectin and corresponding thresholds for long-term outcomes are still unknown. This study aims at investigating the predictive ability and the threshold of faecal calprotectin for long-term outcomes in UC. This analysis will include data from four clinical trials (VISIBLE, MOMENTUM, GEMINI 1 and VARSITY). Analyses will be conducted to evaluate the relationship between faecal calprotectin and the outcomes of interest, and to assess the predictive ability of faecal calprotectin by determining the level at which one might expect a UC relapse. The results will help clinicians understand the prognostic value of faecal calprotectin and may help in selecting treatment approaches for patients with different prognosis.