Gallbladder polyp natural history, complications and prognosis

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

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After considering the type of polyps, the risk of development of cancer should be determined. Most demographic data suggest that men and women have an equal propensity to develop adenomatous polyps, however, one study found that men had an increased risk of polyp development. In addition, several studies have noted that patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) that have polyps are more likely to develop adenocarcinoma. Finally, patients with advancing age may be predisposed to have cancer because some data suggests that gallbladder polyps, like colonic polyps, have an adenoma-to-carcinoma sequence and, therefore, advancing age would permit malignant transformation.