PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - NIKOLAOS GARMPIS AU - CHRISTOS DAMASKOS AU - ANNA GARMPI AU - VASILIKI E. GEORGAKOPOULOU AU - STRATIGOULA SAKELLARIOU AU - ALIKI LIAKEA AU - DIMITRIOS SCHIZAS AU - EVANGELOS DIAMANTIS AU - PARASKEVI FARMAKI AU - ERRIKA VOUTYRITSA AU - ATHANASIOS SYLLAIOS AU - ALEXANDROS PATSOURAS AU - GEORGIA SYPSA AU - ALEXANDRA AGOROGIANNI AU - ATHANASIA STELIANIDI AU - EFSTATHIOS A. ANTONIOU AU - KONSTANTINOS KONTZOGLOU AU - NIKOLAOS TRAKAS AU - DIMITRIOS DIMITROULIS TI - Inflammatory Fibroid Polyp of the Gastrointestinal Tract: A Systematic Review for a Benign Tumor AID - 10.21873/invivo.12235 DP - 2021 Jan 01 TA - In Vivo PG - 81--93 VI - 35 IP - 1 4099 - http://iv.iiarjournals.org/content/35/1/81.short 4100 - http://iv.iiarjournals.org/content/35/1/81.full SO - In Vivo2021 Jan 01; 35 AB - Background/Aim: Inflammatory fibroid polyp (IFP) is a rare, usually solitary and intraluminal polypoid benign tumor that can affect any part of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, although in the majority of cases it affects the stomach. This lesion is characterized by proliferation of highly vascular fibrous tissue and infiltration by a variable number of different inflammatory cells. Its etiology is unknown. Our aim was to describe all the reported data concerning IFP. Materials and Methods: An extensive search of the PubMed Index was performed for publications with titles or abstracts containing the terms: “inflammatory fibroid polyp” with/without “Vanek”. Results were filtered for publications in English and concerning only humans. One hundred and twenty-four publications were finally included in this review. Results: IFP has a female predominance. It affects patients in their 5th decade of life, although there are cases of patients from 4 to 84 years of age. IFP usually affects the stomach and more specifically the gastric antrum but can be detected throughout the GI tract. A significant number of cases remain asymptomatic but the most frequent presentations of IFP are abdominal pain, acute abdomen and GI bleeding. Most cases are treated by endoscopic resection of the lesion. No recurrence nor IFP-specific complications have been reported. Histopathology of IFP varies. Conclusion: It is relatively safe to conclude that both the etiology and the timing of diagnosis might change the histopathology, immunohistological staining and tissue structure of IFP. Suggested theories should be taken into consideration with caution as the etiology and pathophysiological mechanisms of IFP are unknown.