Predicting Outcomes of Ulcerative Colitis: The Role of Biomarkers

Abstract

In clinical practice, however, the role of repeated endoscopic examination is often limited because of its expense and invasiveness. [...]there is no single gold-standard test, pathogenomic symptom, or sign that can be used to definitively diagnose or determine the severity of UC. [...]combinations of P-ANCA and anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies (ASCA) are considered more useful than separate use of each marker, with their combined evaluation exhibiting a high specificity of 81-97% [26-28]. [...]the positive predictive value of the combination of a positive ANCA test with a negative ASCA test has been reported to be 92.5% by Quinton et al. [...]this prognostic information might be considered before surgical procedures.