The Safety of Immunosuppression in A Prospective Cohort of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients With a HIstoRy of CancEr (SAPPHIRE): A National Study

What Is SAPPHIRE?

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a condition in which the body’s immune system reacts inappropriately and causes ongoing inflammation in the digestive tract. To manage this, many patients are often treated with immunosuppressants. Because IBD involves long-term inflammation, people with IBD already face a higher risk of developing certain cancers.

Understandably, patients and physicians have questions about the risks of cancer with the use of immune suppressing medications. These questions have yet to be fully explored in research.

The goal of this project is to better understand whether people with IBD and a diagnosed cancer (either current or past) develop new or recurring cancers, and whether these are correlated with the IBD treatments they receive.

We are enrolling adults who:

• Have been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, or IBD unclassified
• Have a confirmed cancer diagnosis within the past 10 years (cancer free) or active cancer diagnosed within the last 180 days
• Are able to provide written informed consent
• Live in the United States

Fill out our self-screening tool below to see if you're eligible to join the registry.

Questions for the self-screening tool

• Are you 18 or older?
• Were you diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, or indeterminate colitis?
• Were you diagnosed with your first cancer, any type, within the last 10 years? (not a pre-cancerous lesion, not a recurrent cancer)
• Are you cancer free at the moment?
• Are you able to provide written informed consent? This could be done electronically.
• Do you live in the United States?

What the study involves

• If you decide to be part of the study, you will need to sign an informed consent form and complete an initial survey. This takes approximately 15 minutes to complete.
• You will then be asked to complete yearly surveys, which take about the same time as the first o
• The forms can be signed and completed electronically, or in person.
• You may choose to opt out of the study at any time.

Qualifying participants will receive a $50 stipend for their time.

Questions?

Please do not hesitate to reach out to us at 212-659-5506 or email Sapphire-IBD@mssm.edu