BACKGROUND: Given the increasing number of therapeutics for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Japan, the objective of the current study was to characterize the patient population, focusing on the epidemiology, symptoms, treatment landscape and humanistic burden of ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD) in Japan.
METHODS: A targeted literature review was conducted between May and November 2019 using Japanese and English electronic search engines, without a date limit. A prespecified strategy was used to identify studies on incidence and prevalence, quality of life (QoL) and treatment patterns for patients with UC and CD in Japan.
RESULTS: Studies on the epidemiology and treatment landscape (n=75), and humanistic burden (UC, n=14; CD, n=19) of IBD were identified. The prevalence of UC and CD have increased five-fold since 1991, and several treatments have been approved for IBD (five for UC and four for CD since 2010). Common symptoms included abdominal pain and diarrhea, with psychological and social issues having the greatest impact on QoL. However, few long-term outcomes studies were identified (n=3). There was little consensus between studies on typical treatment pathways, which patients should receive biologics, therapy duration or use of concomitant therapies.
CONCLUSIONS: Despite numerous treatment options, there are unmet research needs to understand optimal treatment pathways and long-term prognoses among Japanese patients with IBD.
