Episode 55. Polyps with Dr Geetha Gopalsamy
Polyps are discreet mass lesions that protrude into the intestinal lumen and represent a very important precancerous pathology to be identified and removed at colonoscopy. Up to 95% of adenocarcinomas arise from polyps, such cancers develop either after inactivation of the APC gene (for adenomas) or by KRAS mutation or BRAF oncogene activation with methylation of promoter regions for the serrated polyp pathway. As colorectal cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in Australia, with up to 1 in 18 males and 1 in 25 females developing cancer in their lifetime, identification and removal of polyps as demonstrated by the National Polyp Study remains an important objective at colonoscopy.
In this podcast we are joined by expert gastroenterologist Dr Geetha Gopalsamy to discuss:
· Adenomatous polyps
· Mucosal serrated polyps
· Mucosal non-neoplastic polyps
· Submucosal polyps
Focusing on the significance of each in relation to their clinical significance as well as providing pointers to the conversations we should have as clinicians with our patients about consent for colonoscopy and what to do with anticoagulation therapies pre-procedure. Geetha guides us systematically through this interesting subject. I hope you can join us.
The useful references include:
- The National Polyp Study Gastroenterology 1990
- pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- www.nham.org 23 February 2012
To be a guest on the show or provide some feedback, I’d love to hear from you: manager@gihealth.com.au
Dr Luke Crantock MBBS, FRACP, is a gastroenterologist in practice for over 25 years. He is the founder of The Centre for GI Health, based in Melbourne Australia and is passionate about educating General Practitioners and patients on disease prevention and how to manage and improve their digestive health.