The elderly harbor greater proportions of advanced histology in subcentimeter adenomas: implications for screening colonoscopy approaches

Background Screening and surveillance for colorectal cancer can reduce both the incidence of this disease and mortality rates attributed to it. Normally, surveillance intervals should be based on baseline colonoscopy findings, and clinicians focus on advanced polyps and perform patient risk stratification to devise surveillance schedules. The aim of the study was to determine differences in advanced colorectal polyp characteristics and consequent risk stratifications in patients of different age groups. Material and methods We retrospectively reviewed 14 312 patients during a 5-year period; a total of 13 842 polyps were stratified by their sizes, locations, and histologies. Participants were categorized into three age groups, the <45 years group, the 45-59 years group and the >59 years group, and each group was further stratified as normal, low risk, and high risk. Results The <45 years group included 2431 subjects, the 45-59 years group 6258 subjects, and the >59 years group 5623 subjects. The frequency of adenoma and advanced polyps in the proximal colon slightly increased with age. Only 1.0% in the <45 years and 1.3% in the 45-59 years groups of subcentimeter polyps were identified as advanced polyps, less than that in the >59 years group (2.1%). Most patients, especially the elderly, considered as high risk had multiple subcentimeter adenomas. Conclusion The processing strategy proposed for subcentimeter polyps in the elderly still needs to be further explored in the future. Clinicians should recognize the importance of performing a detailed scan of the entire colon.