Filiform polyposis: A benign entity? Case report and literature review

Abstract

Filiform polyposis (FP) is a distinctive and unusual form of benign non syndromic polyposis that is occasionally encountered in the colon of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) history. FP is characterized by one to hundreds, slender, arborizing, vermiform projections in the colon lined by normal or inflammatory colonic mucosa. Only rare cases without history or evidence of IBD have been reported. In those cases, the sigmoid colon was the most common location and none of them showed dysplasia or malignancy neither at first evaluation nor during follow-up. In this report, we present the first case of FP associated with six adenomas developed on filiform polyps and invasive adenocarcinoma in the right colon of a 54 year-old man without a past medical history of IBD.

Keywords: Adenocarcinoma; Colon; Filiform polyposis; Inflammatory bowel disease; Intestinal polyposis.