Unusual Location of a Rare Complication of Celiac Disease

Abstract

Introduction: Celiac disease has been associated with gastrointestinal malignancies, most commonly gastrointestinal lymphoma. Nevertheless, rarer malignancies have also been reported, such as small bowel adenocarcinoma, mainly located in the duodenum or jejunum. Case Presentation: We report a case of a female patient with celiac disease with poor adherence to a gluten-free diet who presented with small bowel obstruction due to a primary ileal adenocarcinoma. The patient remains asymptomatic, adherent to the gluten-free diet, and without clinical, biochemical, or imaging evidence of cancer recurrence. Discussion/Conclusion: This case should raise awareness about the importance of the gluten-free diet and the early diagnosis and appropriate management of rare small bowel malignant complications of celiac disease, namely, adenocarcinoma.

Keywords

• celiac disease
• gastrointestinal cancer
• gluten-free diet
• doença celíaca
• neoplasias do tracto gastrointestinal
• dieta isenta em glúten