Stay updated with the latest developments in Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition (PGHN) and get to know the experts behind the research and our organisation. The official podcast of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) explores cutting-edge studies, practice management strategies, and more. Join us three times a month for insightful interviews and commentary with leading professionals in the field, designed to enhance your knowledge and advance your expertise.
Our podcast features specialists from around the world, with a particular emphasis on the European community.
This podcast is hosted by the ESPGHAN Education Committee.
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the guest invited and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of ESPGHAN. These opinions are based on information and scientific data available at the time of recording and may change as research in the field advances.
New Episodes 1st, 10th and 20th of the Month. For feedback, contact us: office@espghan.org | Playlist: ESPGHAN favourite Songs can be found on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0YIHKjxITLEm9XNyHyypTo
Producer: Selma Ertl, MBA | Host: Dr. Alex Knisely | Recording: Manuel Schuster
Stay updated with the latest developments in Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition (PGHN) and get to know the experts behind the research and our organisation. The official podcast of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) explores cutting-edge studies, practice management strategies, and more. Join us three times a month for insightful interviews and commentary with leading professionals in the field, designed to enhance your knowledge and advance your expertise.
Our podcast features specialists from around the world, with a particular emphasis on the European community.
This podcast is hosted by the ESPGHAN Education Committee.
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the guest invited and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of ESPGHAN. These opinions are based on information and scientific data available at the time of recording and may change as research in the field advances.
New Episodes 1st, 10th and 20th of the Month. For feedback, contact us: office@espghan.org | Playlist: ESPGHAN favourite Songs can be found on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0YIHKjxITLEm9XNyHyypTo
Producer: Selma Ertl, MBA | Host: Dr. Alex Knisely | Recording: Manuel Schuster

A short hop from Stockholm to Helsinki, site of the 2025 ESPGHAN annual meeting, where this interview with Prof Ola Olén was recorded – in Finland, or East Sweden, as it was known until 1809, when the Treaty of Fredrikshamn / Hamina ceded both Finland and parts of both North and West Bothnia to Russia… Only in 1917 was the Grand Duchy of Finland pried away from the fragmenting Russian empire, and, mind you, the Russians, wearing their Soviet hat, stole Karelia back in 1940. Thinking of the state of the world today, we forget history at our peril; it’s never been easy to be a Finn.
Sweden, though, is where Prof Olén is based, and where he mines clinical registries of children with inflammatory bowel disease to identify risks and risk factors for susceptibilities and complications. His particular interest is the question of whether or not the risk of cancer is increased in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease, and if so – what cancers, why, and to what extent, absolute and relative? Of course this raises an important corollary question: What are physicians and families to do with the estimates of risk that his work produces?
An introduction to that work is provided in the references below.
LiteratureOlén O et al. Childhood onset inflammatory bowel disease and risk of cancer: A Swedish nationwide cohort study 1964–2014. BMJ 2017 Sep 20; 358:j3951. Doi: 10.1136/bmj.j3951. PMID: 28931512. PMCID: PMC5605779
Everhov Å et al. Colorectal cancer in childhood-onset inflammatory bowel disease: A Scandinavian register-based cohort study, 1969–2017. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 2022 Oct 1; 75(4):480–484. Doi: 10.1097/MPG.0000000000003574. Epub 2022 Aug 18. PMID: 36125530
Olén O et al. Increasing risk of lymphoma over time in Crohn’s disease but not in ulcerative colitis: A Scandinavian cohort study. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2023 Nov; 21(12):3132–3142. Doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2023.04.001. Epub 2023 Apr 13. PMID: 37061104
Everhov Å et al. Cancer incidence in patients with ulcerative colitis naïve to or treated with thiopurine and targeted therapies – a cohort study 2007 to 2022 with comparison to the general population. J Crohns Colitis 2025 Jun 2:jjaf091. Doi: 10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjaf091. Online ahead of print. PMID: 40455688
Dr. Olen´s favourite song: Bara bada bastu” with KAJ.
ESPGHAN favourite Songs can be found on Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0YIHKjxITLEm9XNyHyypTo