Sporadic colorectal cancers with a high degree of microsatellite instability are a clinically distinct subgroup with a high incidence of BRAF mutation and are widely considered to develop from serrated polyps. Previous studies of serrated polyps have been highly selected and largely retrospective. This prospective study examined the prevalence of sessile serrated adenomas and determined the incidence of BRAF and K-ras mutations in different types of polyps.