Surgical treatment of malignant colon polyps

Abstract

Background In the therapeutic decision about the malignant colon polyp, several factors predicting residual disease after the endoscopic resection guide the decision of surveillance or surgical intervention. This is a challenging decision, because even in the presence of high-risk predictors currently used, only 15–30% of the patients will have residual disease in the surgical specimen. Objective To evaluate patients with a diagnosis of malignant colon polyp at the Hospital Center of São João, who were indicated for surgical treatment, studying the predictors of residual disease in the surgical specimen. Methods A retrospective study was carried out, based on the patients with malignant colon polyp diagnosed and treated at the Hospital Center of São João in the city of Porto, Portugal, between 2009 and 2016. The endoscopic, anatomopathological, surgical and follow-up data were reviewed. Results Of the total number of patients in the study ( n = 96), 59 (61.5%) were indicated for surgery after a multidisciplinary discussion. Of this group, 21 patients (35.6%) had residual disease in the surgical specimen, with presence of lymph node invasion in 8 patients (13.6%). The presence of malignancy in the surgical resection specimen was statistically significantly associated with: size of the resected polyp ( p = 0.023); sessile polyp ( p = 0.007); piecemeal resection ( p = 0.002). Conclusions The persistence of malignancy in the surgical specimen was associated with larger sessile polyps and piecemeal removal. A significant number of patients did not show malignancy in the surgical resection specimen, with more markers being required to better stratify patients.