Are colon polyps common and are they cancerous?

Doctor's Answers 2

Polyps is a generic term whereby fleshy growth comes out from the inner lining of the intestine. You may subdivide polyps into benign or malignant. When someone uses the term in a layman fashion, it usually means that it is still in the benign stage, but technically speaking, you might have cancerous polyps too.

You might think of polyps as an evolving spectrum. You have got early to middle to late where it's at high risk of transforming into cancer.

Most of the time, polyps can be removed at the time of the colonoscopy unless they have grown extremely large, then sometimes it is not safe to remove it during colonoscopy. In this case, if the math is correct, the father could have gotten colorectal cancer at a very young age, perhaps 40 something. That means he and his other siblings are at high risk of developing polyps and hence cancer.

He would be recommended for a more intensive surveillance programme, which sounds like what he is doing, which is the right thing and if every time he does a colonoscopy and found that there were polyps needed to be removed, then certainly he has done the right thing.

Now, is it normal? I would not say it is completely normal to have polyps but it is common and the rate of a person forming polyps will increase with age, so if you have reached the age of 50-60, I am talking about a regular person and not one that has a family history.

So by 50-60, if you were to do screening say colonoscopy, there will be at least a 10% chance that you will have polyps, but most probably it will still be at the benign stage and can be removed on the spot.

Polyps is a generic term whereby fleshy growth comes out from the inner lining of the intestine. You may subdivide polyps into benign or malignant. When someone uses the term in a layman fashion, it usually means that it is still in the benign stage, but technically speaking, you might have cancerous polyps too.

You might think of polyps as an evolving spectrum. You have got early to middle to late where it's at high risk of transforming into cancer.

Most of the time, polyps can be removed at the time of the colonoscopy unless they have grown extremely large, then sometimes it is not safe to remove it during colonoscopy. In this case, if the math is correct, the father could have gotten colorectal cancer at a very young age, perhaps 40 something. That means he and his other siblings are at high risk of developing polyps and hence cancer.

He would be recommended for a more intensive surveillance programme, which sounds like what he is doing, which is the right thing and if every time he does a colonoscopy and found that there were polyps needed to be removed, then certainly he has done the right thing.

Now, is it normal? I would not say it is completely normal to have polyps but it is common and the rate of a person forming polyps will increase with age, so if you have reached the age of 50-60, I am talking about a regular person and not one that has a family history.

So by 50-60, if you were to do screening say colonoscopy, there will be at least a 10% chance that you will have polyps, but most probably it will still be at the benign stage and can be removed on the spot.

Similar Questions

For colon cancer, how does a doctor decide on treatment options?

Treatment for a patient with colorectal cancer is based on the presumed stage of the disease. Make sure you speak to a colorectal surgeon as surgery is the cornerstone of your treatment. You will need to undergo blood tests and a full-body CT scan as the surgeon will need to determine whether the cancer has spread to other organs (stage 4 disease), or is too large for a safe complete cancer resection. The blood tests done will also include tests to determine your risks for surgery. Your surgeon will then discuss the options with you.

Photo of Human

Answered By

Human

How are colon polyps treated?

Polyps in the colon can be broadly classified as pre-cancerous polyps or polyps without cancer potential. The polyps are seen during colonoscopy. Your endoscopist will look at the polyp and magnify the scope to visualise the surface characteristics of the polyp. If all the features are consistent with a polyp which has no cancer potential, it can be left alone. If the polyp looks like a pre-cancerous polyp, your endoscopist will remove it whenever possible. If your endoscopist is unsure, the polyp is removed for confirmation.

Photo of Human

Answered By

Human

Ask any health question for free

I’m not so sure about a procedure...

Ask Icon Ask a Question

Join Human

Sign up now for a free Human account to get answers from specialists in Singapore.

Sign Up

Get The Pill

Be healthier with our Bite-sized health news straight in your inbox