What is Tumor?
A tumor is also called a neoplasm. It is an abnormal growth of body tissue that is uncontrollable cell division and progressive.
Tumors are of two types:
1. Benign tumor
2. Malignant tumor
What Is A Benign Tumor?
A benign tumor is a non-cancerous growth of the body cells and they don’t spread to other body tissues (metastasize). Its growth is very less or sometimes no growth will be there. Specific types of these tumors can convert into cancer cells (malignant tumors). A benign tumor does not reoccur once removed.
Causes of Benign Tumor
The cause is unknown but growth of these cells may be linked to some factors like:
- Radiation,
- Genetics,
- Diet,
- Stress,
- Trauma or injury,
- Inflammation or infection.
Treatment of Benign Tumor
A benign tumor generally needs no treatment in most cases and it can be removed by surgery or by medication. Some examples of benign tumors include fibroids in the uterus and lipomas in the skin.
What Is A Malignant Tumor?
A malignant tumor is a cancerous growth of body cells that is uncontrollable and can spread to various sites of the body. The growth of malignant tumors is rapid. It can be spread (metastasis) via the bloodstream or by the lymphatic system and it is most commonly found in the brain, lungs, and bone.
Treatment of Malignant Tumor
If a malignant tumor is detected early then it can be removed by surgery along with chemotherapy or radiotherapy. If they got spread then sometimes it can be treated with chemotherapy or immunotherapy. Some Examples of malignant tumors are breast cancer, prostate cancer, and lung cancer.
Some common types of malignant tumor are of as follows:
- Carcinoma: It is cancer that occurs in epithelial cells of a tissue that lines organs.
- Sarcoma: It is a cancer of connective tissues like bones, muscles, and blood vessels.
- Leukemia: It is a cancer of bone marrow from which blood cells are created.
- Myeloma and lymphoma: These are cancers of the immune system.
Difference Between Benign Tumor and Malignant Tumor
| Benign Tumor | Malignant Tumor |
|---|---|
| Definition | |
| The abnormal growth of cells that are non-cancerous is known as a benign tumor | The abnormal growth of cells that are cancerous is called a malignant tumor |
| Rate of growth | |
| The rate of growth of cells is slow or no growth is seen | There is a rapid growth of cells a curse in malignant tumors |
| Spread of tumor | |
| The tumor cells do not spread to other tissues | The tumor that spreads to other parts of the body |
| Cell characteristics | |
| Most of the cells in the benign tumor are normal | The cells of the malignant tumor will show some abnormalities like change in DNA and chromosomes which can be observed by larger and the darker nucleus |
| Growth characteristics | |
| Most of the tumor cells will get will stay attached to the clone or mass of cells under do not detach from the clone | The tumor cells will get detached from cloned mass and Moto and other tissues to start knew growth of cancer cells |
| Treatment | |
| A benign tumor can be treated by surgery | A malignant tumor can be treated with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or immunotherapy |
| Difficulty in treatment | |
| A benign tumor is easy to remove | A malignant tumor is difficult to remove |
| Reoccurrence | |
| The benign tumor once removed do not reoccur | The malignant tumor will reoccur sometimes even after treatment |
| Examples | |
| Fibroids in the uterus, lipomas in the skin | Breast cancer and prostate cancer |
Conclusion
Both benign and malignant tumor is an abnormal growth of cells which differ in cancerous or non-cancerous type. The causative factors for both tumors are unknown but the spread of tumors can be caused by certain factors like diet, stress, lifestyle habits, and genetics. The treatment of these tumors mostly depends on the type of tumor and the system which got affected. Both the tumors can be treated by surgery, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy if identified at early stages mainly for malignant tumors.
