Gastric polyps: radiological evaluation and clinical significance

Gastric polyps were found in 81 out of 4,692 consecutive radiological examinations (1.7%) and 103 out of 2,656 endoscopic examinations (3.9%) over a 19-month period. Polyps were more frequent in older patients and in women. Of 98 pathologically diagnosed lesions, 73 (74%) were hyperplastic and only two (2%) were adenomatous; most others were submucosal. Gastric polyps were rarely associated with carcinoma; only one patient had an area of severe dysplasia or carcinoma in situ, which was removed by polypectomy. The double-contrast technique had a high sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing gastric polyps. The location and number of lesions were relatively good indicators of pathology, but size and radiographic characteristics were not. The authors suggest that although radiology has a role in initial detection and screening, endoscopy should be the method of choice for further evaluation and follow-up. Histological identification is possible only with biopsy, and preferably polypectomy. The infrequent association with malignancy suggests that surgery is unnecessary in most cases.