Frequency of polyps in patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer

Epidemiologic and molecular biologic studies have already demonstrated that adenomatous colonic polyps are precancerous diseases. The main indication of the colonoscopy in the surveillance of colorectal cancer treated patients is the diagnosis and resection of adenomatous polyps. To study the frequency of adenomatous polyps after surgically resection of colorectal cancer. Sixty eight patients, mean age 59 years old, with total resection of colorectal cancer, submitted to various colonoscopies during the follow up were studied retrospectively. The histological type and the characteristics of the polyp were described. The frequency of polyps was 18%, being higher in the patients with more than 45 years (20%). The site of the polyps was in the left colon in 38% of the patients with cancer. The histological type of adenomas was tubular in 61%, villous in 22% and mixed in 17%. As described by other authors, the incidence of polyps were higher after 45 years old and more than a half of them were tubular. The frequency of polyps was higher in the first two years of follow up.