Primary intestinal lymphoma in Crohn's disease: minute tumor with a fatal outcome.

A 54-yr-old man with a 22-yr history of Crohn's disease was found to have a microscopic focus of immunoblastic lymphoma within a segment of small bowel resected to relieve intestinal obstruction. There was no other clinically evident disease. Thirty months later, he developed axillary adenopathy with recurrent lymphoma of the same immunophenotype (IgA lambda) and was given combination chemotherapy, with complete clinical response. Lymphoma recurred 6 months later in the axilla and progressed rapidly over the next 3 months, despite chemotherapy. He developed extensive mediastinal, mesenteric, and retroperitoneal disease with malignant ascites and died 39 months after diagnosis of the incidentally discovered bowel mucosal primary tumor.