Many people think that malignant tumors are cancers, but in fact, this understanding is incorrect, and cancer and malignant tumors are different concepts.
Key topics in this article:
1. The difference between malignant tumors and benign tumors
2. Why malignant tumors and cancers are not the same concept
3. Examples of common cancers and sarcomas
1. The difference between malignant tumors and benign tumors
A tumor is a new organism that changes the body at the genetic level, resulting in abnormal local growth. According to the cellular characteristics of the tumor and the degree of harm to the body, the tumor can be divided into benign tumor and malignant tumor.
1. Benign tumors
Benign tumors grow slowly, have little impact on the body, and the outermost layer of the tumor is generally surrounded by a capsule. Benign tumors generally grow in expansive and exophytic growths. Expansive growths are outwardly swollen growths that do not infiltrate surrounding tissues and organs. Exophytic growth refers to outgrowth on the surface of an organ.
The boundary between benign tumors and surrounding tissues and organs is cleared, and generally does not infiltrate surrounding organs, causing damage to surrounding organs, and benign tumors will not metastasize, which is also the fundamental distinguishing point between benign tumors and malignant tumors. For example, lung cancer often metastasizes to the brain, bone, liver, and adrenal glands, while lung hamartoma (a benign tumor of the lung) does not metastasize. Therefore, benign tumors generally have a good prognosis, generally only local compression symptoms, generally no systemic symptoms, and most of them do not cause death of patients. Such as fibroadenomas of the breast, hepatic hemangiomas, lipomas on the body surface, etc.
2. Malignant tumors
Malignant tumors grow rapidly and aggressively, that is, they grow around the periphery like tree roots grow into the soil. When we touch a malignant tumor, we feel that we can't push it because it infiltrates the surrounding tissues, causing poor mobility. Malignant tumors can metastasize, and some may recur after treatment. For example, some patients with lung cancer may still recur and metastasize after radical lung cancer resection. Malignant tumors often have systemic symptoms, especially in patients with intermediate and advanced malignant tumors, such as low-grade fever, weight loss, anemia, fatigue, etc., which may eventually lead to death.
2. Why malignant tumors and cancers are not the same concept
Malignant tumors derived from epithelial tissue are called carcinomas, while malignant tumors derived from mesenchymal tissues are called sarcomas. Epithelial tissues such as alveolar epithelial cells, skin, liver epithelial cells, etc., and their malignant tumors such as lung cancer, skin cancer, liver cancer, etc. Mesenchymal tissues such as adipose tissue, bone tissue, cartilage tissue, etc. belong to mesenchymal tissues, and their malignant tumors such as liposarcoma, osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, etc. Therefore, the definition of carcinoma and sarcoma is defined by different tissue sources. Both carcinoma and sarcoma are malignant tumors, one originating from epithelial tissue and the other from mesenchymal tissue. From the above, it can be seen that the concept of malignant tumor is larger, and it includes carcinoma and sarcoma.
For example, if a doctor says that a patient has lung cancer, it means that the patient's malignant tumor originates from the epithelial tissue of the lung. If the patient has a sarcoma of the lung, the malignant tumor of the patient's lung originates from the mesenchymal tissue of the lung.
3. Examples of common cancers and sarcomas
1. Lung cancer
Lung cancer is the number one cancer in mainland China, with the highest incidence and mortality rate. The current 5-year survival rate in the study is 16%. The common types of lung cancer are: adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, small cell carcinoma, and large cell carcinoma. Lung adenocarcinoma accounts for 60%-65% of all lung cancer types, generally growing in the periphery of the lungs, and is the most common pathological type of lung cancer in women.
2. Osteosarcoma
Osteosarcoma mostly occurs in adolescents. It is usually found at the lower end of the femur and the upper end of the tibia, which is close to the knee attachment. Typical x-ray findings are daylight exposure and the Kodman triangle, which may typically metastasize early on.
This article summarizes: carcinoma is a malignant tumor derived from epithelial tissue, sarcoma is a malignant tumor derived from mesenchymal tissue, malignant tumor is a big concept, and cancer is included in malignant tumors. #癌症 ##肿瘤#