DNA microsatellite instability in hyperplastic polyps, serrated adenomas, and mixed polyps: a mild mutator pathway for colorectal cancer?

Abstract

The findings support the view that hyperplastic polyps may be fundamentally neoplastic rather than hyperplastic. A proportion of hyperplastic polyps may serve as a precursor of a subset (10%) of colorectal cancers showing the MSI-L phenotype, albeit through the intermediate step of serrated dysplasia. This represents a novel and distinct morphogenetic pathway for colorectal cancer.