Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2017. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Apr 16, 2017; 5(4): 134-139
Published online Apr 16, 2017. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v5.i4.134
Esophageal squamous papilloma lacks clear clinicopathological associations
Bilel Jideh, Martin Weltman, Yang Wu, Calvin H Y Chan
Bilel Jideh, Martin Weltman, Yang Wu, Calvin H Y Chan, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Nepean Hospital, Sydney, NSW 2747, Australia
Author contributions: Chan CHY designed the study and supervised manuscript preparation; Wu Y acquired study data; Weltman M supervised manuscript preparation; Jideh B acquired study data, reviewed the literature and wrote the paper.
Institutional review board statement: Nepean Hospital institutional review board gave ethics approval of study design and protocol.
Informed consent statement: This was a retrospective study; some of the patients had deceased. Patient consent was not obtained but the presented data are anonymized and the risk of identification is low/nil. The study design was approved by Nepean Hospital institutional review board.
Conflict-of-interest statement: None of the authors have any conflict of interest to declare.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Bilel Jideh, Gastroenterology Trainee, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Nepean Hospital, Derby Street, Kingswood, Sydney, NSW 2747, Australia. bjid7747@uni.sydney.edu.au
Telephone: +61-413-724433 Fax: +61-247-341313
Received: November 6, 2016
Peer-review started: November 9, 2016
First decision: November 30, 2016
Revised: January 8, 2017
Accepted: January 16, 2017
Article in press: January 18, 2017
Published online: April 16, 2017
Processing time: 158 Days and 1.1 Hours
Abstract
AIM

To determine the prevalence of esophageal squamous papillomas (ESPs) in a tertiary teaching hospital and to assess for any clinical associations, including relations with esophageal squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs).

METHODS

Data from a total of 6962 upper gastrointestinal endoscopies over a five year period were retrospectively obtained and analysed.

RESULTS

ESP was found in sixteen patients (0.23%). Eight (50%) patients had a high body mass index, seven (44%) had history of cigarette smoking. Reflux esophagitis was found in four (25%) patients. All ESPs were solitary with a mean endoscopic size of 3.8 mm and located in the mid to lower esophagus. Human papilloma virus (HPV) was tested in three (19%) patients and was negative. Esophageal SCC was found in seven patients (0.10%) during the same period. None of the specimens were tested for HPV, and none had associated papillomatous changes.

CONCLUSION

ESP is an uncommon tumour with unclear clinical associations and malignant potential.

Keywords: Esophagus; Papilloma; Gastroesophageal reflux disease; Human papilloma virus; Squamous cell carcinoma

Core tip: Esophageal squamous papilloma is a rare endoscopic finding with uncertain clinicopathological associations. They are usually asymptomatic and their aetiology is unknown. A high body mass index and a history of cigarette smoking, both risk factors for gastroesophageal reflux disease, were the most prevalent patient characteristic in our cohort with esophageal squamous papillomas (ESPs), however no definite associations can be established. None of the esophageal squamous cell carcinomas during the same study period progressed from ESP. Long-term longitudinal studies would be valuable to clarify clinical associations and the malignant potential of ESPs in order to establish appropriate management and surveillance strategies.