Are Colon Polyps Cancerous?

QUESTION: I recently had the same examination as the President (Reagan). I
must have leadership qualities too, as they discovered that I also have polyps
in my colon. My doctor removed them. Does this mean they were cancerous?
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ANSWER: You and many others share this condition with our President, as
polyps of the colon are the most commonly found in the digestive tract. There
are two type of polyps, pedunculated (attached by a thin stem or stalk) or
sessile (attached to the wall of the intestine by a broad base). Although
they occur as a single lesion in most patients, some individuals with a an
inherited syndrome may have literally hundreds of polyps growing. The most
common type of colon polyps are classified as hyperplastic (excessive growth
of normal tissue) or as adenomas (benign growths of glandular tissue). While
hyperplastic polyps probably remain benign, adenomas are considered to be
precancerous. Since these classifications are the result of a microscopic
study of the tissue, and to take no chances of leaving any possible cancerous
growths behind, all polyps are removed and then classified. You will have to
ask your doctor for the tissue report of your polyps to find out just what
they were, but the probability is that they were benign, and your operation
prevented a dangerous cancer from occurring. And as I so frequently write
here, prevention is just about the best kind of medicine there is.