High Rate of Advanced Colorectal Polyps in a 10-Year-Long Retrospective Study in Qazvin, Iran

Background: Polyps are common lesions in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Colon cancer is mostly a resultof progression from polyps. The present study aimed to evaluate demographic, clinical, and histologicalcharacteristics of colorectal polyps in Iran, particularly neoplastic and advanced types. Materials and
Methods:Over a period of 10 years, specimens of all colorectal polyps obtained from colonoscopy were studied. Thevariables subjected to statistical analysis were age, sex, and the chief clinical complaint of the patients whounderwent colonoscopy, their motivation, and the site, size, and histological types of detected polyps. The levelof significance was set at p value <0.05.
Results: Data were obtained from a total of 352 patients. No differencewas seen between male and female patients regarding histological types. Only in nine patients was screening thereason for colonoscopy. Almost two-thirds (66.2%) of the polyps were neoplastic. Familial polyposis syndrome andinflammatory bowel disease were seen in 4.3% and 3.0% of the patients with neoplastic polyps, respectively. Sitesof polyps were the sigmoid, rectum, and descending colon in 40.1%, 34.5%, and 17% of the cases, respectively.The advanced type made up 58.8% of neoplastic polyps. Only 3.6% of the patients undergoing colonoscopy in thestudy period had biopsied polyps. Discussion: No difference was observed between male and female patients interms of overall incidence of polyps, histological and anatomical profiles, and mean age distribution. Anatomicaland histological profiles agreed with the studies performed in areas with a low risk of colon cancer. The findingsshow that colonoscopy was not performed when it was necessary. A meaningful increase in the number polypbiopsy cases and a corresponding decrease in polyp size in the last few years of the study can be associated withthe presence of more GI specialist clinicians in hospital centers, and this holds out much hope for the furtherimprovement of the situation in the future.