Tubular adenomas are the most common type. They're considered benign, or noncancerous. But sometimes cancer can develop in an adenoma if it isn't ...EverythingYouShouldKnowAboutTubularAdenomasMedicallyreviewedbyYaminiRanchod,Ph.D.,M.S.—WrittenbyJulieMarks—UpdatedonSeptember18,2018TypesPathologyreportSymptomsTreatmentFollow-upOutlookWhatisatubularadenoma?Anadenomaisatypeofpolyp,orasmallclusterofcellsthatformsontheliningofyourcolon.Whendoctorslookatanadenomaunderamicroscope,theycanseesmalldifferencesbetweenitandyourcolon’snormallining.Adenomastypicallygrowveryslowlyandlooklikeasmallmushroomwithastalk.Tubularadenomasarethemostcommontype.They’reconsideredbenign,ornoncancerous.Butsometimescancercandevelopinanadenomaifitisn’tremoved.Ifadenomasbecomecancerous,they’rereferredtoasadenocarcinomas.Lessthan10percentofalladenomaswillturnintocancer,butmorethan95percentofcoloncancersdevelopfromadenomas.Readontolearnmoreabouthowdoctorstreattubularadenomas.TypesofadenomasTherearetwotypesofadenomas:tubularandvillous.Thesearecategorizedbytheirgrowthpatterns.Sometimesdoctorsrefertopolypsasbeingtubulovillousadenomasbecausetheyhavefeaturesofbothtypes.Mostsmalladenomasaretubular,whilelargeronesaretypicallyvillous.Anadenomaisconsideredsmallwhenit’slessthan1/2inchinsize.Villousadenomasaremorelikelytoturncancerous.Thereareseveralothertypesofpolyps,including:hyperplasticinflammatoryhamartomatousserratedUnderstandingyourpathologyreportWhenpolypsinyourcolonareremoved,they’resenttoapathologylabtobestudied.Aspecializeddoctor,knownasapathologist,willsendyourhealthcareproviderapathologyreportthatgivesinformationabouteachofthesamplesthatweretaken.Thereportwilltellyouthetypeofpolypyouhaveandhowmuchitlookslikecancerunderamicroscope.Dysplasiaisatermusedtodescribeprecancerousorabnormalcells.Polypsthatdon’tlookmuchlikecancerarereferredtoashavinglow-gradedysplasia.Ifyouradenomalooksmoreabnormalandmorelikecancer,it’sdescribedashavinghigh-gradedysplasia.SymptomsofadenomasManytimes,adenomasdon’tcauseanysympt