ABSTRACT
Although carcinoma is now an accepted complication of both ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease (de Dombal et al., 1966; Greenstein et al., 1979; Gyde et al., 1980; Cooper et al., 1984; Ekbom et al., 1990; Eaden et al., 2001a; Sharan and Schoen 2002), in routine diagnostic histopathology it is
rare. Less than 1 per cent of deaths from colonic cancer are associated with ulcerative colitis. In the most recent 30-year analysis of the St Mark’s Hospital colonoscopic surveillance programme only 30 cancers occurred within a surveillance cohort of 600 patients (Rutter et al., 2006). Thus, the service pathologist working in a District General Hospital is unlikely to meet many cases during their career.
