Early formation of polyps

Last weak I had a flexible sigmoidoscopy and there were clearly several 5 or 6) small bumps in my colon that I had not seen before. My GI said they were the early formations of polyps and he took several biopsies of them. I didn’t get a chance to ask him many questions about them so I emailed him yesterday and received a reply today. I asked him if they could possible become cancerous and if I should have them removed. His reply was:

“The polyps in your colon are almost certainly inflammatory (due to the colitis associated inflammation) but biopsies that were taken will confirm that. If they are inflammatory their chance of becoming cancerous is extremely small and probably the same risk as the rest of the inflamed lining of the colon. The biopsies should be back later this week or early next week. We don't usually remove inflammatory polyps but do continue to follow them (and the entire colon) on a regular basis to check for precancerous changes.”

Has anyone had a similar situation? They appeared out of no ware. I didn’t see any at my last sig only 4 months ago.

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The mucosa tends to look more granulatous with prolonged inflammation-- so that bumps can develop that do not turn into true polyps. Then, again, even when true polyps do show up, the experienced gastros are more concerned about what type they are, which has bearing on their potential for turning malignant. The so-called hyperplastic polyps look yucky if you see them on the colonoscopy monitor, like multiple conjoined blobs, but they do not carry the risk for malignancy that flat lesions can. Some polyps look like Hershey's kisses; other may grow a stem & look like a toadstool. The idea is to monitor them regularly so that they can be snipped off thru the c-scope while still small. / Old Hat (nearly 30 yrs with left-sided UC ... [etc.]) P.S. I've had 4 of the bumpy kind removed at different times; 2 developed early on in my UC career, then I was clear for 18 yrs, had a hyperplastic removed in 2001 & another in 2006, after nothing at c-scope in between those yrs. I've heard from another longtime UCer that she has dozens of tiny polyps throughout her colon, which her gastro just biopsies annually but otherwise leaves them in place. Hope these examples will be helpful to you!

Post Edited (Old Hat) : 4/7/2008 9:42:03 PM (GMT-6)

Thanks Old Hat, I was always under the impression that all polyps should be removed as a precautionary measure. I guess that’s not always the case.

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Right, Paul. When my doctor reported the 1st two polyps in early 1980s, I asked a cousin of mine who was a doctor in family practice what to do about them. He advised that they require surveillance, but do not usually need to be removed immediately, especially if the tissue surrounding them is badly inflamed, which mine was at that time. / Old Hat

I've got tones of them Paul, the inflammatory polyps. They are no big deal in & of themselves, but when it comes to cancer detection, they can become an issue. My GI put it this way- "Your colon has hundreds of these pseudo-polyps. In order to remove them all, we'd have to take out the whole colon!. But having a few shouldn't be an issue, because they can be treated on an individual basis, if need be.

they found one in my colonoscopy last friday and GI said the same thing, that it was most likely inflammatory. I meet w/him next week to go over the biopsy and colonoscopy.

thanks for shedding some light on the issue Old Hat and Eva Lou

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Beth, 32 ~ Major Flare Sept/Oct 07 ~ in remission

Thanks everyone. I have had over a dozen scopes since diagnosis in 2000 and was conscious for all but one. I have never seen polyps before.

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I just received the following in an email from my GI:

“Biopsies showed that the polyps were inflammatory - i.e. related to the colitis.”

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