Of the three types of colon polyps, only one, called adenomatous polyps, or adenomas, can turn into cancer. However, adenomas are the most common type, comprising about two-thirds of colon polyps. Fortunately, adenomas grow very slowly, and not all adenomas turn cancerous. If they do, they usually take more than 10 years to become malignant, giving you ample time to catch and remove them, which makes colorectal cancer highly preventable with routine colorectal cancer screening.
