Acolonic polyp is a circumscribed mass of tissue that projects above the surface of the intestinal mucosa, which may be classified as either pedunculated or sessile, depending on whether or not it contains a discrete stalk, and according to the size and type. It has been believed that colorectal cancer evolves from a precursor lesion, the adenomatous polyp. The introduction of colonoscopy in the early 1970s, followed by the demonstration of the feasibility of colonoscopic polypectomy, provided the technology for the application of this concept to clinical practice. Colorectal cancer can be prevented through examination of the entire colon and identification of a polyp to be resected. According to the National Polyp Study in the USA, the incidence of colorectal cancer is reduced by 76~90% following colonoscopic polypectomy. Colonoscopy and polypectomy, when performed by adequately trained physicians, is a safe and effective procedure that can decrease deaths resulting from colorectal cancer.
Adenomatous Polyps ; Colon ; Colonic Neoplasms ; Colonic Polyps ; Colonoscopy ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; Diagnosis* ; Incidence ; Intestinal Mucosa ; Polyps*

BACKGROUND: This study was undertaken to review cases of juvenile polyps with respect to clinical and endoscopic features. METHODS: Of the 544 cases of colonoseopic polypectomies performed from Jan. 1 to Jan. 1997, 14 cases(2.6%) involved juvenile poiyps. Those 14 cases were analyzed with special consideration given to colonoscopic aspects. RESULTS: The most common age groups were the fifth and the sixth decades, comprising 50%. There were two children below 10 years of age. Males were predominant in the ratio of 1.3:1. Rectal bleeding was the most common symptom, and 4 cases were asymptomatic. Mediumsized(6~10 mm) polyps were the most common, 7 eases(50%), and large(> 1 cm) polyps were the next most common, 5 cases(35.7%). The first predilection of site was the rectum, 8 cases(57.1%); the second was the sigmoid colon with 5 cases(35.7%). Grossly, pedunculated polyps were the largest in number, accountieg for 64.3% of the cases; the others were all subpedunculated. In 9 cases(64.3%), the preoperative macroscopic diagnoses were consistent with the final diagnoses; in the other cases, the polyps were initially diagnosed as being adenomatous. Adenomatous and inflammatory polyps were associated with 3 cases, who were all men. White spots were noticed around the polyp base in 4 cases (28.6%); the clinical significance of those should be investigated further. All 14 patients underwent polypectomy by endoscopic snare resection without any complications. CONCLUSIONS: Colonoscopy should be the main tool for diagnosis and treatment of juvenile polyps. Juveoile polyps should be taken into account in cases of rectal bleeding and need to be differentiated from adenomatous polyps. Endoscopic polypectomy is an adequate procedure for the treatment of a solitary juvenile paiyp.
Adenomatous Polyps ; Child ; Colon, Sigmoid ; Colonoscopy ; Dental Caries ; Diagnosis ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Male ; Polyps* ; Rectum ; SNARE Proteins

BACKGROUND/AIMS: A diagnosis of acute diverticulitis is based on computed tomography (CT). Colonoscopy is commonly performed after the acute event to exclude other diagnoses. This study aimed to determine whether colonoscopy is necessary and what additional information is gained from a colonoscopy after acute diverticulitis. METHODS: Acute diverticulitis was diagnosed by clinical criteria and characteristic CT findings. We analyzed the number of patients in whom colorectal cancers were diagnosed and other incidental findings of polyps and other diseases. RESULTS: A total of 177 patients were analyzed retrospectively. The mean age was 43.3+/-15.3 years (range, 13-82 years) and 97 patients (54.8%) were male. Sixty-one patients had undergone a colonoscopy within 1 year of the acute attack. Advanced adenomatous lesions and colonic malignancy were not detected. Nineteen patients (31.1%) had > or =1 polyp and 11 patients (18.0%) had an adenomatous polyp. No new or different diagnosis was made after colonoscopy. None of the 116 patients who did not undergo colonoscopy within a year after acute diverticulitis had a diagnosis of colorectal cancer registered with the Korea Central Cancer Registry. CONCLUSIONS: Routine colonoscopy yields little benefit in patients with acute diverticulitis diagnosed by typical clinical symptoms and CT. The current practice of a colonoscopy after acute diverticulitis needs to be reevaluated.
Adenomatous Polyps ; Colon ; Colonoscopy* ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; Diagnosis* ; Diverticulitis* ; Humans ; Incidental Findings ; Korea ; Male ; Polyps ; Retrospective Studies

A gastric polyp is defined as a proliferative or neoplastic lesion from the mucosal membrane. Rates of gastric polyp detection are increasing due to widespread use of gastrointestinal endoscopy in Korea. There are many types of gastric polyps; the most common are fundic gland, hyperplastic, and adenomatous polyps. This article reviews the clinical and histologic features of these polyps and provides recommendations for management.
Adenomatous Polyps ; Diagnosis* ; Disease Management ; Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal ; Korea ; Membranes ; Polyps* ; Stomach

Most solitary gastrointestinal (GI) polyps in children are either inflammatory or hamartomatous. Solitary hyperplastic polyp, sentinel polyp and solitary adenomatous polyp have been occasionally diagnosed in adults, but very rarely reported in Korean children. We recently came across a case with adenomatous polyp in the colon, a case with hyperplastic polyp beneath the gastroesophageal junction, a case with hyperplastic polyp in the prepyloric area, and a case with sentinel polyp in the distal esophagus, which are unusual pathologic types in children. These mucosal lesions were diagnosed incidentally during elective endoscopic examinations for GI symptoms. Most polyps do not cause significant symptoms, so the diagnosis might be delayed, especially in children, in whom GI endoscopy is not commonly performed for screening purpose as in the adults.
Adenomatous Polyps ; Adult ; Child* ; Colon ; Diagnosis ; Endoscopy ; Esophagogastric Junction ; Esophagus ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Polyps*

Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP) is a rare and autosomal dominantly inherited disorder characterized by the development of hundreds to thousands of colorectal polyps. Korean Polyposis Registry was established in July, 1990 for early detection and management of the FAP patient. Recently, we have experienced in our institution a case of the FAP family kindred living in Jeju Island of Korea. Their relatives have been managed for the past 20 years and are listed in the Korean polyposis registry. Pathologic diagnosis of our proband was stage III (T3N1M0) rectal cancer with thousands of colonic polyps. Intrafamilial strife and psychologic distress was significant due to the late detection and progression to rectal cancer. Therefore, we reviewed our case of the FAP family with literature regarding the psychologic distress and the role of the regional registry.
Adenomatous Polyposis Coli ; Colonic Polyps ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Korea* ; Pedigree* ; Polyps ; Rectal Neoplasms

Narrow-band imaging (NBI) is a new imaging technology that was developed in 2006 and has since spread worldwide. Because of its convenience, NBI has been replacing the role of chromoendoscopy. Here we review the efficacy of NBI with/without magnification for detection, characterization, and management of colorectal polyps, and future perspectives for the technology, including education. Recent studies have shown that the next-generation NBI system can detect significantly more colonic polyps than white light imaging, suggesting that NBI may become the modality of choice from the beginning of screening. The capillary pattern revealed by NBI, and the NBI International Colorectal Endoscopic classification are helpful for prediction of histology and for estimating the depth of invasion of colorectal cancer. However, NBI with magnifying colonoscopy is not superior to magnifying chromoendoscopy for estimation of invasion depth. Currently, therefore, chromoendoscopy should also be performed additionally if deep submucosal invasive cancer is suspected. If endoscopists become able to accurately estimate colorectal polyp pathology using NBI, this will allow adenomatous polyps to be resected and discarded; thus, reducing both the risk of polypectomy and costs. In order to achieve this goal, a suitable system for education and training in in vivo diagnostics will be necessary.
Adenomatous Polyps ; Capillaries ; Classification ; Colonic Polyps ; Colonoscopy ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; Diagnosis ; Education ; Mass Screening ; Narrow Band Imaging ; Pathology ; Polyps*

BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that acromegalic patients are at increased risk of developing colonic neoplasia. We evaluated the prevalence of colonic neoplasia and the relationships of clinical parameters of acromegalic activity with presence of colonic neoplasia in Korean acromegalic patients. METHODS: In 30 patients with active acromegaly, colonoscopy was performed at the time of diagnosis. According to the endoscopic findings and histological classifications, the patients were grouped, and a number of clinical parameters of acromegalic activity were compared between those with and without colonic polyps. RESULTS: Colonic polyps were detected in 17 (56.7%) in the 30 acromegalic patients with colonoscopic examinations; 7 (23.3%) hyperplastic and 10 (33.3%) adenomatous polyps. Those with colonic polyps were significantly older (52.2+/-9.46 years vs. 42.2+/-12.97 years, p=0.02) and also had significantly longer disease duration (11.8+/-7.52 years vs. 5+/-2.20 years, p=0.004) than those without ones. In 21 patients who were more than 40 years old, significant differences were found in disease duration (12.7+/-7.54 years vs. 5.0+/-2.68 years, p=0.026) and serum IGF-1 level (1311.9+/-500.14 ng/mL vs. 715.9+/-330.58 ng/mL, p=0.015) between those with and without colonic polyps. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that screening colonoscopy should be recommended in acromegalic patients who are more than 40 year-old, have long disease duration or have high serum IGF-1 level.
Acromegaly ; Adenomatous Polyps ; Adult ; Classification ; Colon* ; Colonic Polyps* ; Colonoscopy ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I ; Mass Screening ; Prevalence*

PURPOSE: The criteria for Suspected hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer(Suspected HNPCC) has been devised by the Korean Hereditary Tumor Registry for families who do not fulfill Amsterdam criteria, but hereditary background is strongly suggested. This study was performed to define the clinical characteristics of 'Suspected HNPCC'. METHODS: The 'Suspected HNPCC' criteria include the followings: a) vertical transmission of colorectal cancer or at least two siblings affected with colorectal cancer in a family and b) development of multiple colorectal tumors (including adenoma) or at least one colorectal cancer case diagnosed before the age of 50 years or development of extracolonic cancers (endometrium, urinary tract, small intestine, stomach, hepatobiliary system, ovary) in family members. We analysed the clinical characteristics of 93 patients from 39 Suspected HNPCC families and compared these characteristics with 176 HNPCC familes and with 1,204 non-hereditary colorectal cancer patients. RESULTS: The mean age of Suspected HNPCC patients at the time of diagnosis (49.0 years) was significantly lower than that of non-hereditary colorectal cancer patients (56.1 years), but higher than that of the HNPCC patients (44.5 years). Tumors were more frequently located in the right colon (34%) in Suspected HNPCC compared to non-hereditary colorectal cancer (23%). Dukes' A and B cancers were more frequent in the Suspected HNPCC as compared to non-hereditary colorectal cancer (55% vs. 48%, p<0.05), but tumor differentiation was not statistically different between the two groups. Among the Suspected HNPCC, 24.0% of the patients had synchronous adenomatous polyps and 20.0% had synchronous colorectal cancers and 15.6% had metachronous polyps or cancers. These findings were similar to HNPCC, but significantly higher than non-hereditary colorectal cancers (p<0.05). In Suspected HNPCC families, 42 patients had extracolonic malignancies with the stomach cancer being the most common (n=22). CONCLUSION: These data indicate that the clinical characteristics of Suspected HNPCC are similar to those of HNPCC and may suggest that the management principles of the HNPCC should also be applied to the Suspected HNPCC.
Adenomatous Polyps ; Colon ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Intestine, Small ; Korea* ; Polyps ; Siblings ; Stomach ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Urinary Tract

To assess the clinico-pathological characteristics of patients with multiple primary colorectal cancer, 458 patients who underwent curative surgery and being followed-up at our institution between Jan. 1987 and Dec. 1993 were evaluated in this study. The median follow-up period was 42 months. Synchronous cancer was defined as distinct lesions separated by a distance of greater than 4cm with the invasion of the tumor below the muscularis mucosa at the time of diagnosis or within 6 months after initial treatment, and metachronous cancer was defined as the development of colon cancers more than 6 months after the initial treatment without evidence of the recurrence or metastases from primary tumor. There were 29 cases of multiple primary colorectal cancer(6.3%). Eighteen cases(3.9%) of them were synchronous, 11 cases(2.4%) were metachronous cancers. Seven cases(1.5%) were related to 5 hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer(HNPCC) families. During the follow-up period, 11 patients(2.4%) developed cancers in other organs. Adenomatous polyps were identified 14 cases of 29 patients with multiple primary colorectal cancers(48.3%), compared to 43 cases(10%) in 429 patients with solitary colorectal cancer(p<0.01). After initial curative surgery, there were 8 recurrences in 29 patients with multiple primary colorectal cancers(23.6%), compared to 100 recurrences in 429 patients with solitary primary colorectal cancer(23.3%)(p>0.05). In aspect of family history, there was close-relationship with this regarding in the group of multiple primary colorectal cancers. However, authors were unable to make analysis this regarding in the group of solitary primaries because of lack of the information. Conclusively, authors guess the frequent association of the adenomatous polyps in multiple primary colorectal cancers as the evidence of the adenoma-carcinoma sequence. In addition, authors emphasized the importance of the total colonoscopic examinations in pre-and post-operation in order to make diagnosis of the multiple primary colorectal cancers and paying attention as to the family history of colorectal cancer patients because we have good therapeutic results after operation of early stage in synchronous cancers and co-existent adenomatous polyps.
Adenomatous Polyps ; Colonic Neoplasms ; Colorectal Neoplasms* ; Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Mucous Membrane ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Recurrence