[Risk of recurrence of colorectal polyps following endoscopic resection]

From 1976 to 1985, 1063 patients (614 men, 449 women, mean age: 63 years) underwent the excision of 1887 adenomatous or villous colonic or rectal polyps. Regular controls by barium enema or total colonoscopy have been proposed to these patients. A first control, performed in 715 patients (67%) after a mean of 27 months, revealed the presence of polyps in 162 of them (23%). A second control performed in 331 of the 535 controllable patients (61%), was positive (presence of polyps) in 82 of them (24%). During the follow-up period, 16 cancerous lesions were observed. Comparing the initial status of the patients with the results of the different controls, 3 risk factors for developing a new colonic or rectal polyp emerged: 1) male sex, 2) the presence of multiple lesions at the initial examination, 3) a recurrence at a previous control.