Is a descending colon polyp cancerous?
Disease description:
I personally pay close attention to health maintenance in daily life. Recently, I’ve experienced abdominal distension, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting; occasionally, my stool has appeared black. After visiting the hospital for evaluation, I was diagnosed with a descending colon polyp. Could you please tell me whether a descending colon polyp is cancerous?
Doctor's answer (1)
Dr. Cheng Yicheng
Most descending colon polyps are benign tumors with a relatively low risk of malignant transformation; they are typically considered precancerous lesions. Small descending colon polyps usually cause no symptoms, whereas larger ones may lead to nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and other symptoms. Descending colon polyps are classified into several types, including adenomatous polyps, mucosal hyperplastic polyps, inflammatory polyps, and hamartomatous polyps. To determine whether malignant transformation has occurred, polypectomy under colonoscopy followed by histopathological examination is required.
