5 Gastroenterology Headlines You Missed in December 2025

December 2025 brought a diverse set of clinically relevant insights across gastroenterology, highlighting evolving risks, emerging perioperative strategies, and innovation in both adult and pediatric care.

New real-world and observational data sharpened understanding of corticosteroid exposure patterns in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), while early evidence from a randomized feasibility trial suggested that intentional, intensive weight loss before colorectal cancer surgery is both safe and well tolerated.

Across functional, pediatric, and autoimmune gastrointestinal disease, December’s updates emphasized personalization of care. Real-world evidence supported a novel, device-based approach to chronic idiopathic constipation, while pediatric-focused research explored predictors of response to teduglutide in short bowel syndrome–associated intestinal failure. Rounding out the month, expert discussion at the 2025 North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (NASPGHAN) meeting highlighted the growing importance of recognizing autoimmune overlap in celiac disease, particularly with type 1 diabetes, and the role of early screening in improving long-term outcomes.

Check out this December 2025 gastroenterology month in review for a recap of HCPLive’s coverage of the top GI news and research from the past few weeks:

Young Women With Ulcerative Colitis Face Higher Corticosteroid Exposure Risk

A recent observational, retrospective analysis of Crohn's Colitis Care (CCCare) data suggest steroid exposure for IBD management is most common among younger individuals, females, and those with ulcerative colitis (UC), as well as individuals receiving combination immunomodulators and advanced therapies. Findings highlight key groups at higher risk of exposure and help identify opportunities for reducing unnecessary exposure.

Intensive Weight Loss Before Colorectal Cancer Surgery Safe, Feasible

Emerging research is shedding light on the feasibility and safety of intentional weight loss with a low-energy total diet replacement before colorectal cancer surgery in patients with colorectal cancer and excess weight. Findings from the multicenter, external, feasibility, parallel, individually randomized CARE trial show a low-energy total diet replacement before colorectal cancer resection is feasible and well tolerated, lacks safety concerns, and is likely cost-effective, necessitating further research about the potential utility of this approach.

Real-World Data Highlight a New Approach to Chronic Constipation, With Darren Brenner, MD

Darren Brenner, MD, a professor of medicine and surgery in the division of gastroenterology at Northwestern University and serves as director of the Neurogastromotility and Interdisciplinary Bowel Dysfunction programs, describes shortcomings of pharmacologic chronic idiopathic constipation options and reviews real-world data on the Vibrant System’s benefits in this context.

The novel, device-based therapeutic approach is designed to enhance colonic motility without pharmacologic action, with new real-world evidence showing patients using the device for 3 and 6 months experienced improvements across multiple clinically relevant endpoints, including increased complete spontaneous bowel movements, reduced straining, and greater frequency of complete evacuation.

Predicting Teduglutide Treatment Response for Pediatric SBS-IF, With Valeria Cohran, MD

Recent research presented at the 2025 NASPGHAN Annual Meeting sheds light on the characteristics of children with short bowel syndrome-associated intestinal failure (SBS-IF) by response to teduglutide, including attainment of consistent response and sustained enteral autonomy. In this interview, Valeria Cohran, MD, a professor of pediatrics and the medical director of intestinal rehabilitation and transplant at Ann and Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, describes key findings from this study, a post hoc analysis pooled data from pediatric patients who took part in 1 of 2 open-label, multicenter, phase 3, long-term extension studies over 96 weeks and their respective parent studies, and emphasizes the need for additional studies of this agent in this patient population to further inform treatment decisions.

Navigating Autoimmune Overlap in Celiac Disease, With Daniel Mallon, MD

The overlap between celiac disease and other autoimmune disorders, especially type 1 diabetes, is an increasingly important area of clinical focus, with experts working to refine screening strategies and improve care for patients who may develop multiple autoimmune conditions.

In an interview with HCPLive at the 2025 NASPGHAN Annual Meeting, Daniel Mallon, MD, a pediatric gastroenterologist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, explained that about 5-10% of patients with type 1 diabetes will also develop celiac disease, while a smaller proportion of patients with celiac disease later develop type 1 diabetes. Beyond the shared risks linking celiac disease and type 1 diabetes, he also goes on to emphasize why early screening improves outcomes.