Differences Between Benign and Malignant Tumors The biological and medical consequences of a tumor are highly dependent on whether it is benign or malignant. Listed is a comparison of the primary differences between benign and malignant tumor Common Sites for Cancer Cancer can occur in virtually any tissue or organ. Some cells and tissues are more likely to become cancerous than others are, particularly those cells that normally undergo proliferation are. Those cells that don't proliferate (e.g., neurons and heart muscle cells) rarely give rise to cancers. The following table illustrates the most frequent occurrence of cancers in various body sites. While the prostate is the most common type of cancer that occurs in men, most survive with treatment. In contrast, other types of cancer are more often fatal. For example, the most common cancer, which causes death in men (even is lung cancer (33% with treatment), of cancer deaths in men). With women, a similar situation exists in that the breast is the most common site for cancer but more women also die as the result of lung cancer (23% of cancer deaths in women). What do Cancers Look Like? Cancer is a general term for more than 100 different cellular diseases, all with the same characteristic - the uncontrolled abnormal growth of cells in different parts of the body. Cancers appear in many forms. A few types are visible to the unaided eye but others grow inside the body (unbeknown to the and slowly eat away or replace internal tissues. affected person) An example of a cancer that can be easily seen by the unaided eye is skin cancer. Skin cancers appear as raised, usually dark-colored,
Differences Between Benign and Malignant Tumors The biological and medical consequences of a tumor are highly dependent on whether it is benign or malignant. Listed is a comparison of the primary differences between benign and malignant tumor Common Sites for Cancer Cancer can occur in virtually any tissue or organ. Some cells and tissues are more likely to become cancerous than others are, particularly those cells that normally undergo proliferation are. Those cells that don't proliferate (e.g., neurons and heart muscle cells) rarely give rise to cancers. The following table illustrates the most frequent occurrence of cancers in various body sites. While the prostate is the most common type of cancer that occurs in men, most survive with treatment. In contrast, other types of cancer are more often fatal. For example, the most common cancer, which causes death in men (even with treatment), is lung cancer (33% of cancer deaths in men). With women, a similar situation exists in that the breast is the most common site for cancer but more women also die as the result of lung cancer (23% of cancer deaths in women). What do Cancers Look Like? Cancer is a general term for more than 100 different cellular diseases, all with the same characteristic - the uncontrolled abnormal growth of cells in different parts of the body. Cancers appear in many forms. A few types are visible to the unaided eye but others grow inside the body (unbeknown to the affected person) and slowly eat away or replace internal tissues. An example of a cancer that can be easily seen by the unaided eye is skin cancer. Skin cancers appear as raised, usually dark-colored,
pak-chapter-3.docx