Intestinal Inflammation in CF Patients

Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a disease that affects salt and water transport in multiple organs. Many CF patients suffer from abdominal pain and this could be due to intestinal inflammation. However, so far we do not know how many of the CF patients actually do have intestinal inflammation when looking at intestinal specimens. There is a proven connection between chronic inflammation and developing colorectal cancer and over the years more CF patients are developing colorectal cancer. Thus, it becomes increasingly important to look for the presence of intestinal inflammation in CF patients since early treatment may improve their symptoms and reduce the risk for colorectal cancer.