The Differences And Connections Between Tumors And Cancers

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The Differences And Connections
Between Tumors And Cancers

Cancer is a terrible disease with high morbidity and mortality. In daily
life, many people compare tumors with cancers, and think that if they
grow tumors, they are suffering from cancer. Others believe that malignant
tumors are cancers.

What are the facts? What are the differences and connections between
tumor and cancer?

On the whole, tumors and cancers are both related and distinct. The two are
different diseases and should not be confused. In simple terms, we can use
several formulas to express the relationship between tumors and cancer:

Tumor = benign tumor + malignant tumor
Malignant tumor = carcinoma + sarcoma
Malignant tumor = cancer

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Tumor

A tumor is an abnormal lump or neoplasm that grows out of cells in the body
that divide and proliferate more than normal, or cells that should die under
normal circumstances have not died.

According to the degree of tumor differentiation, as well as recurrence and
metastasis, it can be divided into benign tumors and malignant tumors.
The so-called degree of differentiation refers to the degree to which tumor cells
are close to normal cells. The higher the degree of closeness, the higher the
degree of differentiation of the tumor and the greater the possibility of benignity.
In addition, there is another kind of tumor that is between benign and malignant,
called borderline tumor.

Benign tumor

Benign tumors are those tumors that stay in the original site and do not invade
surrounding tissues or other parts of the body, such as uterine fibroids and
skin lipomas. Generally, benign tumors will not metastasize or spread to local
structures or distant parts of the body. They tend to grow slowly and have clear
boundaries. They will not cause great harm to the body and the possibility of
recurrence after surgical resection is unlikely.

However, some special types of benign tumors can turn into malignant
tumors, such as colorectal polyps, which require close monitoring and timely
surgical removal.

Malignant tumor

Malignant tumors have irregular borders. Cells grow rapidly and
uncontrollably. They can invade surrounding tissues, spread and
metastasize to other parts of the body through the blood or lymphatic
system. The most common sites for malignant tumors to spread and
metastasize are the liver, lungs, brain and bones. Malignant tumors need timely
treatment to avoid spreading.

Although malignant tumors tend to grow faster and more dangerous than
benign tumors, some benign tumors can also cause serious harm to the human
body, such as benign tumors in the brain.

It should be noted that some malignant tumors will not form solid tumors,

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such as leukemia.

According to the source of tumor cells, malignant tumors can be divided
into carcinomas and sarcomas. Malignant tumors derived from epithelial
cells are called carcinomas; malignant tumors derived from mesenchymal
tissues are called sarcomas.

Carcinomas

Carcinoma is the most common type of malignant tumor, formed by epithelial
cells. Epithelial cells are cells on the surface of the human body's skin or the
surface of the internal cavity. There are many types, and they are often
columnar when viewed under a microscope.

Carcinomas originating from different types of epithelial cells have different
names, such as adenocarcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, and squamous cell
carcinoma.

Adenocarcinoma is a cancer formed in epithelial cells that produce fluid or
mucus, and tissues with such epithelial cells are sometimes called glandular
tissues. Most breast, colon and prostate cancers are adenocarcinomas.

Basal cell carcinoma is a malignant tumor that starts in the lower or
basal layer of the epidermis (skin) and is the most common skin malignant
tumor.

Squamous cell carcinoma is a malignant tumor formed in squamous
cells. Squamous cells are located in the epithelial cells just below the outer
surface of the skin. They are also arranged on many other organs, including the
stomach, intestines, lungs, bladder, and kidneys. When viewed under a
microscope, squamous cells look like fish scales. Squamous cell carcinoma is
sometimes called epidermoid carcinoma.

Transitional cell carcinoma is a type of cancer that forms in epithelial
tissue called transitional epithelium, or urothelium. This tissue is
composed of multiple layers of epithelial cells, which are found in the lining of
the bladder, ureter, part of the kidney (renal pelvis), and a few other organs.
Some bladder cancer, ureteral cancer, and kidney cancer are transitional cell
carcinomas.

The name of the cancer is usually based on the organ or tissue in which it
originally formed. For example, lung cancer starts in lung cells, and stomach
cancer starts in stomach cells. Cancers can also be named by the cell types that

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form them, such as lung squamous cell carcinoma, lung adenocarcinoma,
gastric adenocarcinoma, gastric squamous cell carcinoma, etc.

Sarcoma

Sarcoma is a malignant tumor formed in the mesenchymal tissue of
cartilage or soft tissue. Soft tissues include muscle, fat, blood vessels,
lymphatic vessels, and fibrous tissues (such as tendons and ligaments).

Osteosarcoma is the most common cartilage malignant tumor. The common
types of soft tissue sarcoma are leiomyosarcoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, malignant
fibrous histiocytoma, malignant liposarcoma and dermatofibrosarcoma
protuberans.

In addition, leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, melanoma, and some
brain and spinal cord tumors are also malignant tumors.

People often use cancer to refer to malignant tumors, including
carcinomas and sarcomas. When people talk about malignant tumors, they
often omit the word "malignant" in front and only talk about "tumor". This is one
of the reasons why people sometimes cannot distinguish between the two
names "cancer" and "tumor".

In daily life, if a doctor says that someone has cancer, it means that he has a
malignant tumor; if he says that he has a tumor, it does not mean that he has
cancer, it is most likely a benign tumor.

Of course, we have adopted a simplified method here. In fact, the classification
and naming of tumors are much more complicated. In order to make it easier for
everyone to understand, we have omitted many tumor types in the middle gray
area.

All in all, whether benign tumors or malignant tumors are found, they should be
treated as soon as possible to prevent benign tumors from developing into
malignant tumors and metastasis of malignant tumors to other
organs. The earlier the treatment, the less damage.

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to provide the services of Anti-Cancer intermediates's process development and
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References:
[1] Benign vs Malignant Tumors. JAMA Oncol
[2] Cancer Basics
[3] Science Surgery: Are benign tumours different from cancerous tumours?
[4] What Is Cancer?