A 22-year-old patient with a 16-year history of ulcerative colitis who developed multifocal anaplastic colon cancer is presented. His identical twin, proven by blood type, HL-A, and fingerprint analyses, has been completely asymptomatic. This report suggests that ulcerative colitis results from a polygenic predisposition without full penetrance. Subsequent development of colon cancer seems more likely related to the inflammatory disease that an independent genetic determinant.
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