Adenocarcinoma of the small bowel as a complication of Crohn's disease.

Two cases of adenocarcinoma of the bowel occurring in association with Crohn's disease are described. The first affected the terminal ileum and the second the terminal ileum and caecum. The 28 cases so far described in the world literature are briefly reviewed. It is suggested that adenocarcinoma of the small bowel may be a complication of longstanding Crohn's disease. Eleven patients developed the carcinoma in a surgically bypassed segment of bowel, and it is therefore recommended that where surgery is undertaken excision rather than bypass should be the treatment of choice.