Successful treatment of cap polyposis with infliximab

Cap polyposis is a disorder characterized by bloody diarrhea with rectosigmoid polyps covered by a cap of fibropurulent exudate. The pathogenesis is unknown, but histological features suggest that mucosal prolapse may play a role. Drug therapies are usually unsuccessful, and treatment requires sigmoid resection or, if the disease recurs after initial surgical resection, panproctocolectomy. We report the case of a 36-year-old woman with characteristic clinical, endoscopic, and histological features of cap polyposis. Investigations included normal anorectal manometry and defecography, without evidence of prolapse. The patient's disease was unresponsive to treatment with mesalamine, antibiotics, lidocaine enemas, and corticosteroids. One infusion of infliximab 5 mg/kg provided dramatic symptomatic improvement but minimal endoscopic or histological change. After 4 infliximab infusions at 8-week intervals, endoscopy of the rectum and sigmoid colon was normal, and biopsies showed complete histological resolution of the inflammatory process. Well-being with normal endoscopy and histology has been maintained at 38 months, without further treatment. It was concluded that infliximab is effective therapy for cap polyposis and avoids the requirement for surgery. No clinical evidence was obtained to support mucosal prolapse as a causative factor, but the response to infliximab suggests a role for tumor necrosis factor-alpha in the pathogenesis of this disorder.