ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The aim of this review was to examine if diverticulitis increases the long-term risk (> 6 months) of developing colon cancer. METHODS: A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane CENTRAL. Google Scholar was also searched. We included studies with human adults of 18 years of age and above. Studies that included only patients with diverticulitis as well as studies comparing groups with and without diverticulitis were included. The primary outcome was the incidence of colon cancer 6 months or more after an episode of diverticulitis. RESULTS: Twelve records were included with 38,621 patients with diverticulitis. The crude rate of colon cancer among the prospectively followed populations with diverticulitis was by meta-analysis found to be 0.6% (95% CI 0.5-0.6%). The limitations of this review include heterogeneous reporting of outcomes across studies, specifically regarding population and outcome as well as variations in the design and reporting of the studies. CONCLUSION: We found that the long-term risk of colon cancer after diverticulitis is not increased. The results of our review support current practice on follow-up after an episode of diverticulitis with short-term follow-up being the primary focus.