Tumor

From ArticleWorld

A tumor is an abnormal tissue growth and may be either benign or malignant. Benign tumors may swell but, once removed by surgery, do not usually reappear. Malignant tumors, on the other hand, are otherwise called cancer and can spread throughout the body by invading healthy tissue via the blood stream. The older the person with the tumor is, the more likely that the tumor is malignant. This is due to the fact that, as people age, they accumulate mutated DNA which, in turn, causes tumors.

Aptosis

The body has its own mechanism for dealing with DNA damage by the process of programmed cell death. This process of aptosis destroys the cell if the damage is too severe. Cancerous tumors are created when there is too little aptosis.

Anaplasia

For a tumor to be diagnosed accurately, there usually needs to be a histopathological examination of the tissue. A grade is given after this examination depending on how aggressive the tumor is, and is based on the level of cellular differentiation. If the tumor is graded as anaplastic, then its cells do not look like normal cells but are rather primitive. In this case, the tumor is usually malignant. Not all malignant tumors are anaplastic, however.