If you have been diagnosed with a tumor, your healthcare provider will first determine whether it’sbenignor malignant.
Benign tumors are noncancerous.
Malignant tumors are cancerous.
Verywell / Joshua Seong
Once your healthcare provider knows if your tumor is benign or malignant, they will develop a treatment plan.
What Is a Tumor?
Atumoris an abnormal mass or growth of tissue that serves no specific purpose.
It can develop when cells grow and divide too quickly.
Tumors can be located anywhere in the body.
They grow and behave differently depending on whether they are benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous).
The tumor cells are contained within the tumor and aren’t abnormal or very different from surrounding cells.
The cancer cells in a malignant tumor tend to be abnormal and very different from the normal surrounding tissue.
Cancerous tumors can occur anywhere in the body.
This spreading process is calledmetastasis.
The breast cancer cells can then form tumors in those locations.
For example, tumors in the lungs might show characteristics of the original breast cancer tumor.
Can a Benign Tumor Turn Malignant?
Benign tumors only very rarely transform into malignant tumors.
Specific tumors can, however, become malignant over time.
Then, apathologist(a doctor who specializes in examining tissues) will run tests on the cells.
This includes looking at the sample under a microscope.
This is the most definitive way to determine tumor status, and the answer is usually clear-cut.
But sometimes, the diagnosis is uncertain.
It’s also possible that cancer could be present, but the biopsy missed the area with malignant cells.
The information gathered from these tests guides the treatment plan.
Later-stage cancers have spread to more areas of the body.
Once the cancer stage is determined, you’ve got the option to proceed with treatment.
For instance, the tumor may be affecting an important organ in your body.
When they do, surgery is usually the only treatment required.
Malignant tumors may or may not be surgically removed.
These tumors may also require additional treatments like radiation and chemotherapy.
Benign tumors are noncancerous.
Malignant tumors are cancerous.
Though it’s possible for a benign tumor to turn malignant, this is not common.
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