Adenomas of the large intestine after cholecystectomy

Abstract

The frequency of adenomas of the large intestine in 331 cholecystectomised patients who underwent total colonoscopy was compared with that of a control group of patients with asymptomatic cholelithiasis who were matched for age and sex. Whereas no significant difference in the frequency of adenomas was found between these two groups, a subgroup of patients aged 60-80 years with a postcholecystectomy interval of 10 years or greater exhibited a significantly (p < 0.05) greater frequency of adenomas (38.5%) than matched patients with a postcholecystectomy interval of less than 10 years (21.8%) and matched controls with cholelithiasis (23.7%). This increase in the frequency of adenomas was primarily accounted for by an increase in the percentage of tubular adenomas (p < 0.05) and corresponded to an increase in the frequency of cancer (p < 0.05) of the large bowel.