Endoscopic assessment of gastric polyps.

The results of fibre gastroscopy in 100 patients with gastric polyp are reported. The polyps were removed in 38 patients. All cases were followed up. No malignant transformation of the polyp was demonstrable in any of the cases. The polypous growth proved to be early gastric carcinoma in two cases, neurogenic sarcoma in one case. The polyp was associated with gastric carcinoma in 11 cases, with gastric sarcoma in one case, and with tumours of other digestive organs in five cases. It has been concluded that 1. diagnosis and correct assessment of gastric polyps rest on the evidence of endoscopy. 2. In the majority of cases polypoid lesions of the stomach are either benign or malignant from the very outset. Endoscopy coupled with biopsy directed at the representative sites of the polyp permits differentiation between benigh and malignant cases with a fair degree of accuracy. 3. Removal of polyps should be selective. 4. Association of gastric polyps with gastric carcinoma is far more frequent than malignant transformation of the polyp. 5. Endoscopic follow-up of polyps is imperative even in polypectomized cases. 6. Detection of a gastric polyp necessitates a search for tumours of other organs.