Preneoplastic and neoplastic changes in colonic mucosa in Crohn's disease.

In order to further substantiate the associated risk of colonic adenocarcinoma in cases of Crohn's disease, colonic mucosa from 12 patients with documented Crohn's disease was studied. All of the cases exhibited a wide spectrum of mucosal changes. These changes included the following: dilation and distortion of the crypts, cellular basophilia with decreased mucus, Paneth's cell metaplasia, variable degrees of atypia, and carcinoma in situ. These findings are consistent with the increased incidence of carcinoma of the colon in cases of Crohn's disease.