Serum N-Glycomic Biomarkers Predict Treatment Escalation in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Abstract A blood-based prognostic biomarker to guide clinical decision-making at diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) would be immensely helpful. We investigated a composite serum N-glycomic biomarker to predict future disease course in 244 newly diagnosed IBD patients. Forty-seven individual glycan peaks were analysed using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography identifying 105 glycoforms from which 24 derived glycan traits were calculated. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to determine associations of derived glycan traits with disease. Cox proportional hazard models were used to predict treatment escalation from first-line treatment to biologics or surgery (hazard ratio (HR) 25.9, p = 1.1×10− 12; 95% confidence interval (CI), 8.52–78.78). Application to an independent replication cohort of 54 IBD patients yielded a HR of 5.1 (p = 1.1×10− 5; 95% CI, 2.54–10.1). These data demonstrate the predictive capacity of serum N-glycan biomarkers and represent a step towards personalized medicine in IBD.