[Gastric polyps: a clinical contribution]

The incidence of diagnosis of gastric polyps is now higher than in past years owing to the introduction of endoscopy in the diagnosis and treatment of upper digestive tract disease. One hundred and sixty-four polyps removed from January 1984 to August 2000 were analyzed. The median age of the patients was 61.4 years (range: 16-84 yrs). Polypoid lesions were more frequent in males (M:F = 1.5:1). Seventy-nine patients were asymptomatic (48.2%). Sixty-four percent of the polyps were located in the antrum. We diagnosed 73 hyperplastic polyps, 27 adenomatous lesions, 8 inflammatory polyps and 56 pseudopolyps. Malignant lesions were detected in 9 adenomatous polyps (4 type I and 5 type II early gastric cancers). Endoscopy is the examination of choice in the diagnosis and treatment of gastric polyps. We confirm that there is a relationship between histological type, neoplastic change and the size of the polyps.