[Endoscopic polypectomy in the early diagnosis of colonic carcinoma]

281 colonic polypectomies, some of which were incomplete, were performed in 202 patients, revealing the presence of 19 (6.8%) non-adenomatous polyps, 218 (77.6%) benign adenomas, 23 (8.2%) adenomas with superficial carcinoma, 12 (4.3%) adenomas with invasive carcinoma and 9 (3.2%) polypoid carcinomas. Malignant adenomas are found in patients of 30 and over, being 3.5 times more frequent when the polyp has villous patterns. Their incidence increases with the diameter of the poly. 21 patients (12.5%) were submitted to further surgery on the basis of endoscopic or histological data. The significance of endoscopic polypectomy is discussed.