Single and multiple colon polyps often are hereditary diseases. At the close relatives of patients with colorectal polyps, the risk of developing this disease increases several times. This is dangerous, because colon polyps often degenerate into malignant tumors.

How to grow and develop colon polyps

Epithelial polyps of colon tumor formation are on thin or wide leg, growing into the lumen of the intestine. Top polyps are covered with normal or ulcerated mucosa. The most common colon polyps occur after the age of 40 years with equal frequency in men and women.

Polyps are located in any part of the rectum, their surface can be smooth, bumpy, or as cauliflower Cauliflower: Queen vegetable table . There are benign polyps, polyps with the presence of abnormal (malignant) cells, polyps with foci of non-invasive (does not invade other tissue) cancer, glandular polyps with the transition to invasive cancer that spreads due to their allocated proteolytic (tissue-dissolving) enzymes.

It is believed that cancer is reborn (maligniziruetsya) up to 20% of colon polyps. The greater the number of polyps and their larger diameter, the greater the risk of malignancy. The most dangerous in this respect villous tumors that have a glandular origin and looks like a nappy carpet. Diffuse (common) polyposis of the rectum is more common in several members of one family. In contrast to the single polyps, he almost always degenerates into a malignant tumor, then there is a precancerous condition. Sometimes diffuse polyposis colon found benign tumors of bone, skin and soft tissue (Gardner's syndrome).

There are also the connective tissue (fibrosis) colon polyps, which are formed at the site of inflammation and scarring. They rarely maligniziruyutsya, but often accompanied by inflammation.

Symptoms of colon polyps

Most polyps in the initial period does not give any symptoms and is detected purely by chance during endoscopic or radiological examination of the intestine. For large polyps with ulceration and malignancy can appear symptoms such as intestinal obstruction, pain and discomfort in the abdomen, bleeding from the anus. All this causes constipation, which further aggravate the condition of patients.

The main feature of the diffuse (spread) polyposis is the systematic bleeding, discharge from the rectum of a large amount of mucus, diarrhea, difficult to treat. The result is that the patient develops exhaustion and anemia.

Fibrous polyps can manifest as pain in the anus and the loss of a polypoid formations with a diameter of 0, 3 to 5 cm with a smooth surface.

Proctologist can detect the presence of tumor in the rectum during digital examination, but the disease can only be confirmed by additional diagnostic studies.

Diagnosis of colon polyps

When X-ray contrast medium with the introduction of rectal polyps can be seen as a filling defect. This study helps to clarify the spread of polyposis in the overlying parts of the colon.

During endoscopic examination of the rectum (sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy) can detect polyps at a distance of 20 - 30 cm from the anus. Sigmoidoscopy allows us to consider the mucous membrane of the rectum and the final part of the sigmoid colon, while colonoscopy examination is carried to other parts of the colon. During a colonoscopy, you can also take a piece of polyp tissue for research in order to clarify the nature of the tumor and to exclude malignancy.

Treatment of colon polyps

The main method of treatment and solitary polyps and polyposis is operational. The choice is determined by the nature of the surgery location of polyps and their size and general condition of the patient.

Single or group with no signs of malignancy of polyps can be removed endoscopically using a colonoscope. In the same way you can remove the fibroid polyps. If the results of the biopsy revealed malignancy, the operation is conducted partial or complete removal of the rectum to nearby lymph nodes.

The prognosis of single polyps favorable in diffuse polyposis - a serious, due to the possibility of malignancy. Any polyp Polyps: problem to solve   it is better to remove as soon as possible, until they began malignancy.

Galina Romanenko

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