[Crohn's disease and stromal sarcoma of the small bowel--a rare coincidence]

We report the case of a 29-year-old female who suffers for more than 13 years from Crohn's disease. A small bowel resection had to be performed because of a complicated and insufficiently controlled course of the disease with beginning subileus. At laparotomy a leiomyosarcoma was found. This case represents the forth case in the literature of an association between chronic inflammatory bowel disease and malign mesenchymal tumors. Tumors of epithelial and lymphoreticular origin are known as a much more common complication in Crohn's disease and especially ulcerative colitis. An exact histological characterization of these sarcomas is important to define the prognosis of the disease. If recurrent subileus is poorly controlled in Crohn's disease stromal tumors with their frequent intraluminal growth have to be considered as part of the differential diagnosis.