BACKGROUND/
AIMS: Colorectal cancer is the third most common type of
cancer and second leading cause of
cancer death overall. Recently, there has been an emphasis on primary
screening for
colorectal cancer with
colonoscopy . In this study, we aimed to
address clinical characteristics and
incidence of
colonic polyps according to
location .
METHODS: From January 2009 to December 2010, 6,417 total colonoscopic examinations were performed at Boramae
Hospital in
Seoul ,
Korea . We reviewed these
patients retrospectively. The distal
colon was defined as the rectosigmoid junction.
RESULTS: Overall, 1,972
patients (31.3%) had one of more colorectal
polyps . Total of 4,445
patients were excluded from this study because of combined advanced
colorectal cancer ,
inflammatory bowel disease , or
familial adenomatous polyposis .
Patients who had only proximal
polyps were 633 (32.1%), 530
patients (26.9%) had both proximal and distal
polyps , and 809
patients (41.0%) had
polyps only in the rectosigmoid region. The
prevalence of the proximal
polyps in
patients with rectosigmoid
polyps was found to be significantly related to the
male gender and
elderly patients . However, the
prevalence of the proximal
colonic polyps was not related to the size and number of rectosigmoid
polyps . In 530
patients with both rectosigmoid and proximal
colonic polyps , the characteristics of proximal
colonic polyps as size and number were
similar to those of rectosigmoid
polyps . Advanced proximal
adenomas without distal
polyps were found in 25 (29.4%)
patients whom were associated with size and
pathology .
CONCLUSIONS: We recommend total colonoscopic examination in all
patients regardless of the size and number, especially in
elderly males .