Fecal lactoferrin, myeloperoxidase and serum C-reactive are effective biomarkers in the assessment of disease activity and severity in patients with idiopathic ulcerative colitis.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Disease activity and severity of ulcerative colitis (UC) is assessed using colonoscopy, which is invasive, costly and has poor patient acceptability. The role of non-invasive biomarkers of intestinal inflammation in the evaluation of patients with UC is not known. The aim of the study was to examine the role of serum C-reactive protein (SCRP), fecal myeloperoxidase (FMPO) and fecal lactoferrin (FLF) in assessing disease severity, activity and response to therapy.

METHODS: Consecutive patients with idiopathic UC (IUC) attending our hospital from July 2005 to September 2006 were studied. All underwent clinical, endoscopic and histological assessment for disease activity, extent, severity and estimation of SCRP, FMPO and FLF levels at baseline and follow up (FU). An equal number of healthy age-matched controls were studied for biomarker levels.

RESULTS: A total of 37 patients (mean age 37 +/- 12 years) were studied. All three biomarkers were elevated more often in the cases than in the controls (all P = 0.000). Cases with severe IUC had higher CRP, MPO and FLF titers than those without severe IUC. At FU, a significant fall in biomarker levels paralleled the reduction in Mayo's scores. All three biomarkers showed a high degree of correlation with each other. The areas under the curve for FLF, MPO and CRP were 1.00, 0.867 and 0.622, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of markers were: FLF (94%, 100%), FMPO (89%, 51%) and SCRP (24%, 100%).

CONCLUSION: Biomarkers are useful in assessing disease activity, severity and response to therapy in patients with UC. They showed a high degree of correlation with each other.