A Historical Perspective and Exposé on Serrated Polyps of the Colorectum

Abstract

This article offers a historical perspective on the discovery of 3 types of serrated colorectal polyps recognized in the past 60 years. The first to be discovered was the hyperplastic polyp, which is still the most commonly encountered serrated polyp. In the past 20 years, the carcinoma-associated sessile serrated adenoma/polyp has been recognized, but its diagnosis can be difficult owing to overlapping histologic features with hyperplastic polyps. Less is known about the third type, the traditional serrated adenoma, because it is far less common than the other 2 types, and its association with cancer is currently under investigation.