Surgical Resection of a Rare Inflammatory Fibroid Polyp of the Stomach: A Case Review

Abstract

Inflammatory Fibroid Polyps are uncommon sessile or pedunculated polyploid masses that have been estimated to account for roughly one percent of all gastric polyps. They have been reported throughout the gastrointestinal tract in locations including the stomach, small bowel, colon, and esophagus. We present a rare case of an inflammatory fibroid polyp of the gastric antrum in a 57 year-old patient presenting with occult anemia, which was successfully treated with surgical resection. The diagnosis of an inflammatory fibroid polyp is a difficult one, as clinical presentation is usually non-specific and endoscopy with biopsy specimens may not be sufficient to allow for a histological diagnosis. Diagnosis is best established with immunohistochemistry of the excised tumor. Inflammatory fibroid polyps are positive for CD34, PDGFR-alpha, and vimentin, and are negative for CD-117, and S-100, among others. Once diagnosed, the definitive treatment for inflammatory fibroid polyps is excision. The anatomic location and size of the polyp determine whether the procedure is open or endoscopic. Inflammatory fibroid polyps have not been found to recur after excision, nor have additional polyps been found to develop. doi:10.4021/jcs49w