 [ Symptoms ] what is refractory celiac disease [ Disease ] refractory celiac disease is a rare condition in which the symptoms of celiac disease and the loss of villi do not improve despite many months of a strict gluten free diet before making a diagnosis of refractory celiac disease it is important to exclude complications of celiac disease and other co existing conditions that can produce similar symptoms it is believed by many knowledgeable physicians that refractory celiac disease is a malignant condition that is it is a cancer