INCIDENCE OF COLORECTAL-CANCER FOLLOWING POLYPECTOMY - A LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP-STUDY

By means of actuarial analysis the life course of 222 patients with neoplastic colorectal polyps was followed up to 200 months (mean 153 months) after primary polypectomy. Eleven patients developed subsequent colorectal cancer. In the group of patients with villous elements in the primary polyp (n = 133), the incidence of subsequent colorectal cancer (10 patients) was three times higher than in the background population, and significantly higher than the incidence of subsequent cancer (1 patient) in the group of patients with primary pure tubular adenomas (n = 89). The incidence of cancer was not related to the size or number of primary polyps. It is concluded that patients with adenomas with villous elements need control of their colonic mucosa following primary polypectomy.