Considerations and management of a patient with three metachronous cancers in association with Lynch syndrome and ileal Crohn’s disease: A case report

INTRODUCTION: Lynch syndrome and Crohn’s disease are two entirely separate conditions but each have major gastrointestinal characteristics and carry a substantial increase in the risk of intestinal malignancy. Their co-existence in the patient who is the subject of this report dictated the need for an individualised treatment plan to deal with both conditions adequately. PRESENTATION OF CASE: We report a case of a 51 year old female with a past medical history that includes Lynch syndrome and small bowel Crohn’s disease. Over a period of fifteen months, she developed three separate primary metachronous tumors in her endometrium, colon and duodenum. DISCUSSION: A patient with a combination of Lynch syndrome and ileal Crohn’s disease presents significant therapeutic implications that are not usually present when these conditions are treated in isolation. CONCLUSION: The surgical treatment of patients with Lynch syndrome requires a sound knowledge of the possible neoplastic conditions that can arise in the syndrome. Early detection is paramount, either by implementation of evidence based surveillance programs or at least by a heightened clinical awareness of the features of this disease. Ideally this will result in both reduced surgical morbidity and improved oncologic outcome. Furthermore, the medical treatment of Crohn’s disease in a patient with tumors arising from Lynch syndrome must be undertaken with at least a consideration of the possibility that the use of immunosuppressive medication might increase the risk of cancer recurrence.