Disorders of the Gastrointestinal System, 2nd Edition
73
Figure 16. Colon Polyps and Cancer
Note . Emmanuelm. (2008). Colon Cancer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorectal_polyp#/media/File:Colon_cancer.jpg CC BY-SA 3.0.
Polyps occur due to unrestrained cell growth in the upper epithelium (Enders, 2020). Factors that may increase the risk of polyp development include a diet low in fiber and high in fat and red meat. How - ever, more research is needed, as studies have failed to confirm this theory. Hered - itary factors and genetic syndromes such as Lynch syndrome, Cowden disease, and familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) in- crease the risk for polyp formation and cause those polyps to become cancerous. The incidence of polyps for both males and females increases after age 40, and it is estimated that 30% of middle-aged and older adults have colon polyps (Enders, 2020). Adenomas can include villous (oc- curring in the villi of the intestinal lining) polyps (Myers & Arora, 2022).
Most patients with polyps are asymp - tomatic, although rectal bleeding may occur if bleeding is severe, and fatigue and weakness may be present because of anemia. Most often, the bleeding will be evident only with an occult blood stool test. Diagnosis requires visualization via proctosigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy (Enders, 2020). Polyps are generally removed for bi- opsy during procedures such as colo- noscopy. Further treatment depends on the results of the biopsy. Benign polyps generally require no further treatment after removal except for adherence to screening colonoscopies as recommend- ed by the patient’s healthcare providers. If a malignancy is diagnosed, treatment depends on the type of cancer and its stage. Once polyps have been removed, especially if they are determined to be
Powered by FlippingBook