Juvenile polyposis syndrome

Juvenile polyposis syndrome is an inherited condition, passed on in an autosomal dominant way, marked by multiple juvenile polyps in the gastrointestinal tract. Polyps are abnormal growths arising from a mucous membrane. They usually begin to appear before the age of twenty, but the word juvenile describes the type of polyp, a benign hamartoma rather than an adenoma, and not the age of the patient. Most of the polyps are non-neoplastic, self-limiting and benign, though the risk of adenocarcinoma is raised. A single juvenile polyp most often occurs in the rectum and presents with rectal bleeding. World Health Organization criteria require more than five juvenile polyps in the colon or rectum, or juvenile polyps throughout the gastrointestinal tract, or any number of such polyps in a person with a family history of the syndrome.