title: Crohn's disease associated to chordoma: a case report.
abstract: Crohn's disease is an inflammatory bowel disease characterized by remissions and exacerbations. Immunosuppressants are frequently used to induce and maintain remission in these patients. The use of the immunomodulator azathioprine has been associated to malignancies. Chordomas are rare, locally aggressive tumors arising from remnants of the notochord. A specific trigger for this tumor has not been identified and association to any medication has not been reported. The purpose of this report is to present the first case reported in the literature of Crohn's disease associated to a chordoma. The patient to be presented was on azathioprine therapy, among other medications. A review of literature revealed that Crohn's disease and chordoma have abnormalities in chromosomes 1 and 10. Inflammatory bowel disease and chordoma also have abnormalities in chromosomal regions 1p, 3p, and 7q. Despite these findings, a direct genetic relationship between these diseases is speculative.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan 00936-5067.
authors.forename: Wilfredo E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: De Jesús-Monge
authors.forename: Esther A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.forename: Virgen M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Báez
authors.forename: Orlando
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: De Jesús
authors.forename: Lumarie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rivera
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: González-Keelan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002817:Chordoma / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D003106:Colon / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures; D019292:Skull Base Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents