Until 2010, colorectal serrated lesions were generally considered as harmless lesions and reported as hyperplastic polyps (HPs) by pathologists and gastroenterologists. However, recent evidence showed that they may bear the potential to develop into colorectal carcinoma (CRC). Therefore, the World Health Organization (WHO) classification has identified four categories of serrated lesions: hyperplastic polyps (HPs), sessile serrated lesions (SSLs), traditional serrated adenoma (TSAs) and unclassified serrated adenomas. SSLs with dysplasia and TSAs are the most common precursors of CRC. CRCs arising from serrated lesions originate via two different molecular pathways, namely sporadic microsatellite instability (MSI) and the CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP), the latter being considered as the major mechanism that drives the serrated pathway towards CRC. Unlike CRCs arising through the adenoma-carcinoma pathway, APC-inactivating mutations are rarely shown in the serrated neoplasia pathway.
Keywords: CpG island methylator phenotype; colorectal cancer; colorectal serrated lesions; microsatellite instability; molecular pathways; serrated pathway; sessile serrated lesions.