A chain of immune reactions in the gut—driven by a key signaling protein and a surge of white blood cells from the bone marrow—may help explain why people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have a higher risk of colorectal cancer, according to a study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

Researchers at the Jill Roberts Center for IBD and the Jill Roberts Institute for Research in IBD at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian have determined that sulfasalazine works by modulating the activity of a group of gut bacteria that are more abundant in patients who respond to the drug.