Field Cancerization in the Intestinal Epithelium of Patients With Crohn's Ileocolitis

Pretumor clones can grow extensively in the intestinal epithelium of patients with Crohn's disease. Segmental resections for neoplasia in patients with Crohn's disease might therefore leave residual pretumor disease, and dysplasia might be an unreliable biomarker for cancer risk. Characterization of the behavior of pretumor clones might be used to predict the development of intestinal neoplasia.