Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 21, 2027; 33(3): 126483
Published online Jan 21, 2027. doi: 10.3748/wjg.126483
Published online Jan 21, 2027. doi: 10.3748/wjg.126483
Letter to the Editor: Sex-specific differences in 5-aminosalicylic acid therapy for ulcerative colitis: Is it still the case in smokers?
Jing Xu, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Hospital of Qiqihar, Qiqihar 161005, Hei
En-Ming Zhang, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Hospital of Qiqihar, Qiqihar 161005, Heilongjiang Province, China
Jing-Bo Wang, Department of Oncology, The First Hospital of Qiqihar, Qiqihar 161005, Heilongjiang Province, China
Jing-Bo Wang, Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Pe
Co-first authors: Jing Xu and En-Ming Zhang.
Author contributions: Xu J and Zhang EM conducted the investigation and drafted the original manuscript. Wang JB performed the conceptualization, conducted the investigation, supervised the study and revised the manuscript. Xu J and Zhang EM contributed equally to this work as co-first authors.
AI contribution statement: AI was used only for language editing.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Corresponding author: Jing-Bo Wang, MD, Department of Radiation Oncology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Aca
Received: August 14, 2026
Revised: September 13, 2026
Accepted: November 5, 2026
Published online: January 21, 2027
Processing time: 101 Days and 3.2 Hours
Revised: September 13, 2026
Accepted: November 5, 2026
Published online: January 21, 2027
Processing time: 101 Days and 3.2 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Although Liu’s study delivered clinically relevant evidence of sex-based response difference to 5-aminosalicylic acid in ulcerative colitis, two major methodological limitations may weaken its robustness and generalizability. The conclusions drawn from this study could not be directly extended to patients who smoke, and external validation in smokers is needed. The authors should also provide an explicit definition of disease duration and conduct supplementary analyses to elucidate the effect of longer disease duration on outcomes.