Polyps are common in older people. They occur in around 30% of adults over 50 years old in the United States. Some polyps can turn into cancer over time. These polyps are known as precancerous.
Over time, small polyps can change their structure and become cancerous. Polyps are usually removed when they are found on colonoscopy, which eliminates the chance for that polyp to become cancerous. Procedure — The medical term for removing polyps is polypectomy.
Most colon polyps are harmless. But over time, some colon polyps can develop into colon cancer.
Most polyps grow slowly and take from between 10 and 15 years to become cancerous. Due to this general time frame, most screenings are scheduled every 10 years which gives Colorectal Surgical Associates time to remove any polyps before they become cancerous.
If a polyp has cancerous cells, they will also biopsy nearby lymph nodes to determine if the cancer has spread or metastasized to other areas of the body. In this case radiation, chemotherapy or other therapies may be recommended. Colonoscopy screenings can be life saving!
Most polyps grow slowly and take from between 10 and 15 years to become cancerous. Due to this general time frame, most screenings are scheduled every 10 years which gives GI Solutions of Illinois time to remove any polyps before they become cancerous. That is why it's imperative that you follow the screening schedule.
People who have had certain types of polyps removed during a colonoscopy. Most of these people will need to get a colonoscopy again after 3 years, but some people might need to get one earlier (or later) than 3 years, depending on the type, size, and number of polyps.
Not all polyps will turn into cancer, and it may take many years for a polyp to become cancerous. Anyone can develop colon and rectal polyps, but people with the following risk factors are more likely to do so: Age 45 years and older.
Adenomas: Many colon polyps are the precancerous type, called adenomas. It can take seven to 10 or more years for an adenoma to evolve into cancer—if it ever does.
Research indicates that as many as 60 percent of polyps may grow back within three years. Also, about 30 percent of patients who've had polyps removed develop new ones. This is why it is important to talk to the care team about follow-up screening within five years after the polyps are removed.
Your doctor can't usually tell, simply by looking at a polyp during a colonoscopy, if it's cancerous. But if a polyp is found during your colonoscopy, your doctor will remove it and send it to a lab for a biopsy to check for cancerous or precancerous cells.
Because your doctor cannot be certain of the tissue type by the polyp's appearance, doctors generally recommend removing all polyps found during a colonoscopy.
If polyps are left untreated for an extended period, the constant pressure can cause the nose to widen and the space between the eyes to narrow. Polyps can occasionally grow out of control and cause damage to nearby structures, such as your eye or brain if left untreated.
Not all colon polyps can be removed during a routine colonoscopy. Larger colon polyps are more difficult to remove, and require a specialist. If a routine colonoscopy screening reveals you have large colon polyps, your doctor may recommend that you have surgery.
However, some polyps found during screening colonoscopies cannot safely be removed during the procedure. These so-called complex polyps are considered difficult, because they are either too large, too flat, or located in an area that makes them unsuitable for conventional removal.
However, over time polyps can become large and malignant if they aren't treated. Many polyps are found to be pre-cancerous, which means they have the potential to turn cancerous if they aren't removed. With early detection through an endoscopic test, the risk can be eliminated by your gastroenterologist.
Foods to limit
Research suggests that eating less of the following foods may have health benefits and may lower your chances of developing polyps: fatty foods, such as fried foods. red meat, such as beef and pork. processed meat, such as bacon, sausage, hot dogs, and lunch meats.
Polyps are benign, meaning that they're not cancer and they won't spread, but over time certain types can develop into cancer. One of these types is called adenomatous polyps. These are known as pre-cancerous polyps.
While the majority of colon cancers start as polyps, only 5-10% of all polyps will become cancerous.
In multivariable analysis, the presence of 5 or more polyps at index colonoscopy was found to be associated with the risk of metachronous HR-CRN (OR, 2.575, p = 0.049) after adjusting for risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes, and smoking.
"Precancerous polyps are extremely common," he says. "We expect to find them in more than a quarter of the colonoscopies that we do at a minimum. So, you know, maybe a third or even a half of all patients getting [a] colonoscopy will have precancerous polyps."
One reason for this is that colorectal polyps are now more often found by screening and removed before they can develop into cancers. When colorectal cancer is found at an early stage before it has spread, the 5-year relative survival rate is about 90%.
Polyp Growth Rates
Cancerous polyps tend to grow slowly. It is estimated that the polyp dwell time, the time needed for a small adenoma to transform into a cancer, may be on average 10 years (17). Evidence from the heyday of barium enema examinations indicates that most polyps do not grow or grow very slowly (18).
Don't worry. Most polyps aren't cancer. But some types of colon polyps do increase your risk of developing colonrectal cancer. So, it's important to be informed.