Introduction

Pediatric surgeons should have a current knowledge of intestinal polyps because of their direct cause of gastrointestinal symptoms in children and their role as markers of malignancy. Differentiating a sporadic intestinal polyp that confers no cancer risk from a polyposis syndrome and its significant malignant implications is crucial to the care of children and their relatives. It is critical to know which situations are treated by simple polypectomy versus cases in which there is need for surgical resection, screening of relatives and ongoing surveillance for cancer in multiple locations.

The confusing taxonomy of intestinal polyps, evolving genetics and understanding of cancer risk related to intestinal polyposis mandates frequent updates on this topic.

There is little doubt that the future holds an improved understanding of the genetics of intestinal polyposis syndromes and hopefully tailored treatment and surveillance plans stemming from this knowledge.

content in this topic is discussed in SCORE Polyps overview