Papillary (Villous) Adenomas

Abstract

Papillary adenoma has been referred to in the literature by such names as papilloma, papilloma, tumor, polyp, columnar or mucous polyp, villoma, and adenoma malignum. The term villous tumor originated with Holmes,1an English pathologist, in 1860, and means shaggy, or covered with small projections. The literature is voluminous with regard to or papillary adenoma of the colon and rectum.2-21This is undoubtedly true because of the unusual characteristics of the tumor and the frequent serious sequelae which may follow. For many years, unexplained deaths have occurred in patients with adenoma of the bowel. McKittrick and Wheelock,22in 1954, reported that an associated electrolyte imbalance was the reasonable explanation for some of these deaths. Villous tumors account for 1%-3% of neoplasms of the colon and rectum, according to Mayfield and Milnor23; for 1.4% as reported by Sunderland and Binkley24; and