Inflammatory fibroid polyp: A case report with review of the literature

Introduction Inflammatory fibroid polyp (IFP) or Vanek’s polyp is a rare polyp, the etiology of which is not fully understood (1). IFP can arise everywhere in the gastrointestinal tract but is described more frequently in the gastric antrum (2). Its incidence rate is extremely low, from 0.1% to 2% (3). IFPs may be seen at any age but mainly in the fifties to sixties (2). Gastric IFPs are usually asymptomatic or present with nonspecific symptoms (4). The endoscopic investigation only shows nonspecific submucosal polyp (5). Macroscopically, the tumor size is from 0.2 to 4.2 cm with a mean size of 1.7 cm (6). Microscopically, the lesions are located in submucosa and composed of spindle and inflammatory cells. Spindle cells are whorled around vasculature with onion skin pattern. Inflammation contains many eosinophils. The background is fibromyxoid and atypia is none with rare mitoses if any (6,7). The spindle cells are immunoreactive for the cluster of designation (CD) 34 and negative for CD117 and also smooth muscle actin (SMA) staining is variable (6,8). Recent data show that the spindle cells express platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha (PDGFRA). This activating mutation is seen in the majority of IFP cases. Therefore, IFP represents true benign mesenchymal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract (9). Although it is rarely associated with adenocarcinoma or adenoma, local excision is usually curative (10). This study reported a case of IFP in gastric antrum in an Iranian woman in Western Iran.