Histologic characteristics of gastric polyps in Korea: Emphasis on discrepancy between endoscopic forceps biopsy and endoscopic mucosal resection specimen

Aim: To investigate histological characteristics of gastric polyps in the Korean population. Methods: We reviewed endoscopic photographs and medical records of patients with gastric polyps who underwent endoscopic mucosal resection from April 1996 through February 2003. Results: A total of 85 gastric polyps from 74 patients were reviewed. Male-to-female ratio was 1:1.96. Mean age was 59.9 ± 10.8 years. Multiple polyps were observed in 10.8%. Gastric polyps occurred most frequently in the antrum (58.8%). Pathological results on resected specimens were as follows: tubular adenoma 45.9%, hyperplastic polyp 31.8%, inflammatory polyp 9.4%, hamartoma 3.5%, fundic gland polyp 2.4%, tubulovillous adenoma 2.4%, adenocarcinoma 2.4%, dysplasia 1.1%, and mucosal pseudolipomatosis 1.1%. Discrepancy rate between endoscopic biopsy and pathology of resected specimens was 27.1%. There was no relationship between the size of the polyp and concordance rate. Conclusion: There is considerable discrepancy in histologic findings between endoscopic forceps biopsy and resected specimens. Approaches to review of the histology of an entire polyp should be performed, especially when an adenoma is suspected.