Incidence and review of sessile serrated polyp reporting in a district general hospital in the UK

Virchows Arch. 2013 Nov;463(5):633-6. doi: 10.1007/s00428-013-1477-2. Epub 2013 Aug 28.

Abstract

The aim of this 4-year audit was to establish whether sessile serrated polyps/adenomas (SSP/A) were diagnosed in a district general hospital in the UK. The study also explored whether SSP/A in the right colon were misdiagnosed as hyperplastic polyps. A retrospective search of the computer records from 2009 to 2012 inclusive for all lesions diagnosed and coded as SSP/A and/or hyperplastic polyps proximal to the splenic flexure was undertaken. All slides were reviewed and a diagnosis of SSP/A made using the criteria recently suggested by the American College of Gastroenterology. Over the study period, no cases of SSP/A were made. On review of all hyperplastic polyps proximal to the splenic flexure, 13/31 in 2009, 17/40 in 2010, 19/48 in 2011 and 16/48 in 2012 were re-classified as SSP/A. The most likely reason for the under-diagnosis of SSP/A is lack of awareness of the lesion both clinically and by pathologists. Adequate biopsies and deeper sections are important to help make the diagnosis of SSP/A. This study shows that SSP/A are reasonably frequently encountered in non-specialist practice settings and that both clinicians and pathologist in this setting need to be aware of its existence.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adenoma / diagnosis*
  • Adenoma / epidemiology
  • Colonic Polyps / diagnosis*
  • Colonic Polyps / epidemiology
  • Colorectal Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Colorectal Neoplasms / epidemiology
  • Hospitals, General
  • Humans
  • Incidence
  • Retrospective Studies