Crohn's disease and the myelodysplastic syndrome

As many as 36% of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have at least one extraintestinal manifestation (1). Hematologic manifestations associated with IBD include a hypercoagulable state that leads to thrombosis and anemia either secondary to iron, vitamin B-12, or folate deficiency or to hemolysis (2). Leukemia has been reported in association with IBD (3,4), but a causal relationship remains unclear. A clinical association between Crohn's disease (CD) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MSDs) and a potential role of immune dysfunction as a common pathogenic factor have been suggested (3). We present such a case.