SMALL-BOWEL ADENOCARCINOMA AND CROHNS-DIS EASE

We report a 57-years-old male with a 11-years history of Crohn's disea se who developed small bowel adenocarcinoma. The patient was admitted with intestinal partial obstruction and he under went a laparotomy bec ause an abscess in right lower quadrant was suspected. He was successf ully treated with resection and adjuvant chemotherapy, without evidenc e of recurrence after a 2-year follow-up. A review of the literature r eveals that about 100 cases have been reported. We describe the distin guishing features of small bowel adenocarcinoma arising in Crohn's dis ease and we emphasize the difficulty in making an early diagnosis.