Histiocytic lymphoma in chronic ulcerative colitis

Colonic lymphoma and adenocarcinoma occurred together in a man with long-standing ulcerative colitis. The association between lymphoma and ulcerative colitis may be significant since primary colonic lymphomas are very rare. It is suggested that the factors which increase the risk of developing lymphoma of the colon in patients with ulcerative colitis may be the same as those which influence the development of adenocarcinoma, since most of the patients with either neoplasm were in their twenties at the time of onset of ulcerative colitis, the average duration of ulcerative colitis before developing lymphoma or carcinoma was long (12 years), and in most cases, the ulcerative colitis was severe and extensive. In both types of neoplastic disease, an abrupt change in symptoms is the most consistent indication that cancer has developed.