A colorectal polyp is a growth of tissue that sticks out of the lining of the colon or rectum. 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.
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.
A polyp can take as many as 10 to 15 years to develop into cancer. With screening, doctors can find and remove polyps before they have the chance to turn into cancer.
How Are Polyps Removed? Almost all precancerous polyps found during colonoscopy can be completely removed during the procedure. Various removal techniques are available; most involve removing them with a wire loop or biopsy forceps, sometimes using electric current. This is called polyp resection or polypectomy.
"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."
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. Polyps bigger than 1 centimeter have a greater cancer risk than polyps under 1 centimeter.
In 1 to 7 years, depending on a variety of factors: The number, size and type of polyps removed; if you have a history of polyps in previous colonoscopy procedures; if you have certain genetic syndromes; or if you have a family history of colon cancer.
Can polyps come back? If a polyp is removed completely, it is unusual for it to return in the same place. The same factors that caused it to grow in the first place, however, could cause polyp growth at another location in the colon or rectum.
Cancerous polyps may cause no symptoms at all. But if you do have symptoms, they depend on where the polyp is located: Colorectal polyps may cause belly pain, constipation, diarrhea or blood in your poop. Stomach polyps may cause nausea, belly pain, vomiting and bleeding.
All colorectal cancers arise from benign, precancerous polyps, so it's important to remove them before problems grow. Smaller polyps often can be easily removed during a colonoscopy. (That procedure is known as a polypectomy.) They have bigger arteries, and removing them may cause substantial bleeding.
If they found precancerous cells, there is no need for any additional treatment as long as they removed the entire polyp. Removing the tissue stops the development of cancer. Since you are still at an increased risk, we will likely recommend repeating the screening every three to five years in the future.
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 50 years and older.
The doctor will then send any removed polyps to a pathologist for a biopsy to see if cancer is present. If the biopsy reveals that cancer is present, then cancer specialists will outline a treatment plan for the person. Common treatments for colon cancer include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy.
Mutations in certain genes can cause cells to continue dividing even when new cells aren't needed. In the colon and rectum, this unregulated growth can cause polyps to form. Polyps can develop anywhere in your large intestine.
These types of polyps are not cancer, but they are pre-cancerous (meaning that they can turn into cancers). Someone who has had one of these types of polyps has an increased risk of later developing cancer of the colon. Most patients with these polyps, however, never develop colon cancer.
A gastroenterologist, the specialist who usually performs a colonoscopy, can't tell for certain if a colon polyp is precancerous or cancerous until it's removed and examined under a microscope.
While the majority of colon cancers start as polyps, only 5-10% of all polyps will become cancerous. The size of a polyp typically does make a difference. The larger the polyp becomes, the bigger the risk of it developing into colon cancer.
If the colonoscopy finds one or two small polyps (5 mm in diameter or smaller), you are considered at relatively low risk.
It takes approximately 10 years for a small polyp to develop into cancer.
Colon polyp development involves genetic and epigenetic changes and environmental effectors such as stress in this process can drive the normal colonic epithelial cells to hyperplastic and adenomas [25-27].
Results: Mean number of initial polyps were 2.2 and advanced polyps were observed in 40% of the patients. The cumulative recurrence rate of colon polyp was 13.8% within 1 year, and 60% within 3 years, while that of advanced polyps was 2.5% and 31% within 1 and 3 years, respectively.
Precancerous conditions of the colon or rectum are changes to cells that make them more likely to develop into cancer. These conditions are not yet cancer. But if they aren't treated, there is a chance that these abnormal changes may become colorectal cancer.
Most polyps grow slowly and take from between 10 and 15 years to become cancerous.
How long does it take for a polyp to turn into cancer? The growth and mutation of colon polyps into cancer is a slow process, taking an estimated 10 years on average.