Clonal Expansions and Short Telomeres Are Associated with Neoplasia in Early-onset, but not Late-onset, Ulcerative Colitis

Early-onset progressors develop cancer in a field of clonally expanded epithelium with shorter telomeres. The detection of these clones in a few random nondysplastic colon biopsies is a promising cancer biomarker in early-onset UC. Curiously, patients with late-onset UC seem to develop cancer without the involvement of such fields.