Tumor and its Types

What is a tumor?A tumor can be referred to a swelling or inflammation or a morbid enlargement which results due to excessive cell growth and uncontrolled cell division.

A tumor is also called as ‘neoplasm’ which refers to an abnormal mass of tissue. This mass can be either solid or fluid-filled. Different tumors vary in different sizes. Small tumors can be referred to as nodules and larger lumps are referred to as masses.

Can a tumor be cancer causing?People often misunderstand a tumor to be cancerous but the actual fact is that a tumor is not necessarily a cancer. Tumors may grow and may or may not cause cancer. Any cell or tissue in the body may begin the formation of tumor but it is not always true that it will lead to cancer.

Tumors may be benign or harmless, pre-malignant or malignant (cancer causing), or can signify a lesion with no cancerous potential. An abnormal outgrowth can occur anywhere in the body such as in the form of a brain tumor, a tumor behind eye, a tumor in chest, a tumor in colon, a lump in armpit, etc.

Types of tumorsTumors are categorized into two categories: Non cancerous and Cancerous tumors.

Non cancerous tumorsNon-cancerous tumors are more commonly known as benign tumors. A benign tumor does not affect the nearby tissues or does not spread to other parts of the body. Benign tumors tend to have a regular and smooth shape and are movable in the tissues under the skin.

Benign tumors can only be harmful if they develop on any vital structure of the body which may cause compression in blood vessels or nerves. Such kinds of tumors need early diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

Although the actual cause is unknown, but formation and growth of a non cancerous lesion or tumor can be associated with factors, such as:

exposure to radiations or environmental toxins

heredity factors

diet and lifestyle

stress, local trauma or injury

any inflammation or infection

Some common types of benign tumors are adenomas (rise from glandular epithelial tissues), fibroids, or fibromas (these tumors grow on the fibrous or connective tissues of any organ), lipomas (soft-tissue tumor consisting of fat cells), hemangiomas (consist of excessive blood cells), etc.

Cancerous tumorsWhen tumor cells form a lump or outgrowth and begin to spread to the nearby areas, it is called as a cancerous tumor. A cancerous tumor grows into the nearby tissues, travel through the blood or lymphatic system and spread to the lymph nodes and distant parts of the body. Cancerous tumors are also known as malignant tumors.

Abnormal cells multiply at a faster rate which leads to the formation of cancerous tumor. As these malignant tumors grow quickly, they can easily spread widely in a process known as metastasis. For example, lung cancer can spread to the liver or kidneys or to pancreas, or any other organ of the body. This means that when metastasis occurs, the abnormal cells gain the ability to invade other organs.

Cancerous tumors can be treated in early stages, but if they metastasize to distant organs of the body, life expectancy (in most cases) is usually poor. For example, if stomach cancer spreads to the liver, the cancer cells now growing in the liver are still stomach cancer cells but they have acquired the ability to attack other organs.

Most common types of cancerous or malignant tumors are carcinomas (formed from epithelial cells), sarcomas (develops in connective tissue), germ cell tumors (made from sperm or egg cells), blastoma (formed from embryonic tissue or developing cells), etc.

Mohd Salman, Mbbs, is a medical science professional and is associated with DiseaseFix as a researcher. Find the most relevant and updated information about the disease in DiseaseFix.