Endoscopic evaluation of gastric inflammatory fibroid polyp.

Clinical and endoscopic manifestations of 18 gastric inflammatory fibroid polyps (IFP) in 16 patients who underwent endoscopic or surgical removal were retrospectively analyzed. All of the lesions were located within the pyloric antrum, and the sizes varied from 0.8 to 7.0 cm. On endoscopy, six polyps which measured 1.0 cm or less uniformly seemed to be sessile or intramural tumors, whereas four of the nine polyps between 1.1 and 2.0 cm in size were additionally accompanied by a central depression. The remaining three, which measured more than 2.0 cm, showed characteristic polypoid growth with ulcerations. Three polyps more than 1.0 cm in size occasionally prolapsed into the duodenal bulb. Three patients with these prolapsing polyps and two with polyps accompanied by ulcerations experienced abdominal pain, nausea, or severe anemia. Two polyps (11%) were precisely diagnosed as IFP by means of conventional forceps biopsy. Histological examinations revealed that all of the polyps proliferated within the submucosa. Therefore, this type of polyp may be subject to endoscopic removal to enable a precise diagnosis and treatment.