title: Anal carcinoma occurring in Crohn's disease patients with chronic anal fistula.
abstract: This paper reports six patients with perianal Crohn's disease (CD), who developed anal cancer in chronic anal fistulas. Tumors have been often diagnosed at an advanced stage and had a worse prognosis than cancers arising in the general population as tumor symptoms may mimic symptoms of CD, resulting in delay in diagnosis. Patients with perianal CD should undergo a careful surveillance program for ano-rectal carcinoma, including routine biopsy of any suspected lesion. When malignancy is found, an aggressive surgical approach and complementary therapy are mandatory.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Fisiopatologia Clinica, Università degli Studi, Firenze.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ficari
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fazi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Garcea
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nesi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tonelli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001005:Anus Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012003:Rectal Fistula / Q000150:complications*