Tubular Adenoma Polyp

Polyps are abnormal overgrowth of tissues, that protrude from the mucous membrane. Polyps may develop anywhere in the body, where there is mucous membrane. These abnormal growths are common in the colon, uterus, cervix, nose (nasal polyps), sinuses, urinary bladder, stomach and colon. While it cannot be said that all colon polyps can become cancerous, but some of them may turn malignant with time and so are removed, as soon as they are detected. However, colon polyps are often associated with a risk of transformation to cancerous ones. Most of the colon polyps are asymptomatic, but may cause rectal bleeding, blood in stools, constipation, diarrhea or pain in some of the affected people. These polyps can either be sessile or pedunculated. If the mass of tissues is attached to the surface by a long, thin stalk, the polyp is categorized as pedunculated, whereas sessile ones lack stalks and develop on the surface itself. Colon polyps are often detected during routine colon cancer screening or colonoscopy. Now, we shall take a look at the various types of colon polyps and learn more about tubular adenoma polyp. Read more on symptoms of colon polyps.

Types of Colon Polyps
Colon polyps are classified into four types, the most common among them being, hyperplastic and adenomatous polyps. The other two types are inflammatory and malignant.

• Hyperplastic colon polyps are very small and are usually found in the rectum. These colon polyps carry a very low chance of turning malignant. However, it is difficult to differentiate this type from the other types during colonoscopy and so they are also removed and biopsied, in order to rule out the risk of colon cancer.
• Adenomatous colon polyps are the most common among colon polyps and are associated with a higher risk of colon cancer. Most of them are benign and do not become malignant, but have the potential to turn cancerous. They are further classified into three types - villous, tubular and tubulovillous, as per the appearance and the microscopic features. Among these three types, villous adenomas are more likely to develop into colon cancer, while tubular adenoma polyps are the least dangerous.
• The third type is the malignant colon polyp, which contains precancerous or cancerous cells. The treatment of this type of colon polyps is decided according to the extent of the cancer and various other factors.
• The fourth type of colon polyps are inflammatory polyps, which are otherwise known as pseudopolyps or false polyps. These are not polyps in the true sense and develop as a reaction to the chronic inflammation of the walls of the colon. These false polyps do not turn malignant, but have to be removed and biopsied for identification.

Most polyps are not dangerous and do not turn cancerous, but they are removed to avoid any risk of colon cancer. Colon polyps are common in people, who are above the age of fifty or who have a family history of colon cancer. It can also occur in people with relatives having polyps or in those who have had polyps before. Read more on colon cleansing.

Tubular Adenoma Polyp
Tubular adenoma polyps are one among the three types of adenomatous colon polyps. It is also the least dangerous among the three, as it carries a very low risk of becoming cancerous. While the more life-threatening colon polyp, called villous adenoma, is larger in size and mostly found as sessile. These polyps, which are velvety in appearance with several finger-like projections, called villi on the epithelium, are generally found in the rectum. Tubular adenoma polyps have a tube-like structure, with 75% of the epithelium arranged in a tubular fashion. Tubular adenoma polyps are the most common ones among the adenomatous polyps. Most of them turn out to be non-cancerous, but the risk of colon cancer gets higher as these polyps grow in size. The third type, called tubulovillous colon polyps, are tubular with 25% to 50% of villous component. It has been observed that most of the pedunculated adenomas are tubular adenoma polyps and the sessile ones are mostly villous. The tubular ones develop more villous components as they grow larger and may become sessile too. These developments increase the risk of colon cancer in tubular adenoma polyps.

In short, the the risk of colon cancer depends on the type of polyp to some extent only. The main factor, that determines the chances of cancer, is the size of the polyp. The larger they become, the greater the risk of colon cancer. It is advisable to remove the colon polyp, whether it is tubular adenoma colon polyp, villous polyp or any other colon polyp. This move helps cut down the chances of developing colon cancer at a later stage. Hence, a flexible sigmoidoscopy (once, every three years) is recommended for those who have passed the age of fifty. Those who have reached the age of forty, must go for a stool specimen test every year for detecting and removing polyps. Above all, maintaining digestive health with a balanced diet, good fiber content and a healthy lifestyle can help you prevent the occurrence of polyps.