Pedunculated polyps are the second shape. They grow on a stalk up from the tissue. The growth sits atop a thin piece of tissue. It gives the polyp a mushroom-like appearance.

Can pedunculated polyps be cancerous?

By definition, a malignant polyp – either sessile or pedunculated, consists of cancer cells that invade the submucosa through the muscularis mucosae without crossing the submucosa, regardless of lymph node status and without distant metastasis (T1NxMo)[3]. The term “early colorectal carcinoma” can also be used[4].

What causes pedunculated polyp?

Research suggests that sessile serrated polyps result from a combination of a mutation in a gene called BRAF and a process called promoter hypermethylation, which makes cells more likely to become cancerous. Put simply, the mutated gene causes cells to divide, which the body is unable to prevent.