If we go for the exact dictionary meaning for both, cancer is a disease while malignancy means tendency of any health problem becoming worse. However, the two can be called synonymous too as malignancy is used mostly for defining cancer. Let’s get a deeper understanding of this.
What Does Malignant Mean
Cancer is basically caused by an abnormal growth of cells which may be present inside a lump called tumor. The abnormal growth of cells is uncontrollable and its fast spreading affects different parts of the body. These tumors are referred to as malignant ones and their spreading process is termed metastasis.
Occasionally, this tumor consists of cells and does not pose threat to other tissues and hardly invade them. This type of tumor is called benign, which is basically non-cancerous.
Healthcare professionals take cell samples to determine whether the tumor is cancerous or benign. They follow the biopsy procedure and later on the tissues are examined by a pathologist as the cell is sent for several tests. The doctors will check the samples thoroughly with microscopes before diagnosing the tumor and will determine the treatment plan.
What is A Benign Tumor & Benign Tumor Symptoms
A benign tumor is a non-cancerous one and it creates lesser worry. However, the non-cancerous cells can be worrisome as they can cause damage by pressing on nerves, tissues, and blood vessels nearby.
Benign tumors can be of quite a few types like the Lipomas and also Fibroids found in the uterus. They are generally removed by doctors through surgery. These tumors can be of very large sizes and they can also weigh a few pounds. This can pose a threat to the health of the patient and can be very dangerous.
These benign tumors can also occur in the human brain and it generally crowds the normal structure of the skull and wreaks havoc in the enclosed space. It can easily block channels and to everyone’s concern press on the vital organs.
Intestinal polyps are also an example of benign tumors and they are generally referred to as precancerous. These polyps are efficiently removed by doctors as they can easily become malignant. However, they generally do not reappear once it has been removed unless in some exceptional and unfortunate situations where it may reappear in the same place.
What are Malignant Tumors?
The growth of malignant tumors is very rapid as compared to benign ones. Sometimes, a benign tumor can also turn into malignant.
There are quite a few benign tumors that transform into malignancy under rare circumstances. This generally happens with adenomas or adenomatous polyps that occur in the colon region and have a higher risk of getting transformed into malignancy. So, colonoscopy is used to remove the polyps and this is useful in preventing the very dangerous colon cancer.
However, it is very difficult to determine the malignancy and benign nature of a tumor. Several important factors are put into perspective by a healthcare provider to diagnose and find out whether the tumor is malignant or benign. But in most cases, the diagnosis can lead to uncertain results.
Furthermore, there can be possibilities as well that the results of biopsy found precancerous cells and it can miss the entire area as well where more cancerous cells can be found. In those particular cases, the cells or tumors that are thought of as benign can eventually be malignant and can rapidly develop and grow further. So, this is a very tricky situation and the biopsy has to be on point to get to the core of the issue.
Does Malignancy Mean Cancer?
Malignancy is analogous to being cancerous and this type of malignant tumor has cancer cells in them. Nearby tissues are easily invaded by these cancerous cells. Some of these cancer cells can also move into the lymph nodes and bloodstream. This is where these cancer cells start to spreads to tissues in other parts of the body.
Cancer can happen in different parts of the body like the intestines, breasts, reproductive organs, lungs, skin, and also blood. For instance, breast tissue can develop into breast cancer and it can spread to the armpit through the lymph nodes if the detection and treatment are not done at the earliest.
The spread of breast cancer to the lymph nodes can be dangerous as it can spread further onto the bones and liver and also affect different body parts. Tumors can be formed through breast cancer cells in those parts. Healthcare providers will ask the patient for a biopsy as these tumors can have the characteristics of the original tumor from breast cancer.
What Does Malignancy Mean?
Abnormal cell division that goes out of control and its invasion of nearby tissues is called malignancy. Malignant cells most often spread to different parts of the body through the lymph and blood system.
Malignancy has many types to it and one of these types is Carcinoma. This type of malignant melanoma treatment starts in the skin of the human body or sometimes in the tissues that cover or line the internal organs.
Another important type of malignancy is Sarcoma and it can start to develop in the cartilage, bone, muscle, fat, and blood vessels. It can also begin in the supportive or connective tissues.
Leukemia is a very important type of malignancy and its starts in the tissue that forms blood, generally in the bone marrow. This type of malignancy causes many different types of blood cells that are abnormal.
There are other types of malignancies called multiple myeloma and lymphoma that starts in the cells of the immune system. Sometimes, benign tumor symptoms malignancies can also occur in the central nervous system where the tissues in the spinal cord and the brain get affected.
To Sum it Up
A lot of anxiety and stress may develop once a person is diagnosed with a tumor. A healthcare provider is the best person with whom one must share their concern and ask for proper detection of the lump. So, when something unusual is noticed in the body, get in touch with a healthcare provider and get the tumor treated. The sooner the problem is diagnosed and treated, the better it is.