A patient with colitis-associated cancer who developed clinically manifest Crohn’s disease only after surgery

Background Patients with prolonged inflammatory bowel disease have a greater risk of colorectal cancer, known as colitis-associated cancer. Here we describe an unusual case of colitis-associated cancer. Case presentation The subject is a 41-year-old male who has not presented digestive symptoms and has an appreciable medical history. He consulted a nearby doctor with left flank pain. A colonoscopy revealed a lateral spreading tumor (granular-type) in his descending colon. With a clinical diagnosis of cancer, D3 left hemicolectomy was performed and a small intestine stoma was constructed. The pathological diagnosis of the tumor was mucinous adenocarcinoma, pT4a(SE), pN2a, which was associated with dysplasia in the surface area. Post-operative ileus was prolonged and the endoscopic examination revealed longitudinal ulcers in the ileum. These ulcers responded quite well to the administration of infliximab, confirming the final diagnosis of Crohn’s disease. Pathological re-examination revealed that the tumor was dysplasia-associated type, and another dysplasia was confirmed near the tumor. Furthermore, mural scars and sporadic lymphoid aggregates were noted in the colon tissues, which suggested pre-existing Crohn’s disease. The patient died of peritoneal dissemination of cancer on day 207 after surgery. Conclusion The present case was diagnosed as colitis-associated cancer with clinically latent Crohn’s disease, who developed clinically manifest Crohn’s disease only after surgery. Our review of literature revealed no cases comparable to ours.