What is the difference between benign tumors and malignant tumors

I believe that everyone has heard others talk about the two special terms, benign tumors and malignant tumors. When visiting the hospital, if the patient learns that he has a benign tumor, he will often feel relieved, but if it is a malignant tumor, he will feel completely hopeless. So what is the difference between benign tumors and malignant tumors that leads to such different reactions in patients.

1. What is a tumor?

A tumor is a new growth that is not normal tissue. Tumors can be divided into two categories: benign and malignant, depending on their growth characteristics and their effects and harms to the human body. Tumors can occur in almost any part or organ of the human body. What people call cancer in their daily life is a malignant tumor. However, some benign tumors can also cause great harm to the human body because they grow around important organs.

2. What is a benign tumor?

Generally, tumors are named according to their origin. For example, those from fat cells are called lipomas, those from fibrous tissue cells are called fibromas, those from bone cells are called osteomas, those from muscles are called myomas, and there are also breast fibroadenomas, which come from the glands inside the breast and the fibrous tissue therein. In fact, these are the naming principles for benign tumors, which is to add the word "tumor" after the name of the source tissue.

3. In addition to cancer, malignant tumors also include sarcoma.

Cancer is a malignant tumor that originates from epithelial tissue, such as skin cancer, stomach cancer, colon cancer, lung cancer, etc. Sarcomas are malignant tumors that originate from mesenchymal tissue. Mesenchymal tissue is what we often call fibrous tissue, adipose tissue, muscle tissue, blood vessels, bones, cartilage, etc. They are named by adding "sarcoma" after the source tissue. For example, liposarcoma is a malignant tumor, while lipoma is benign, bone tumor is benign, and osteosarcoma is malignant. Cancer is more common, mostly in adults over 40 years old, while sarcoma is relatively rare, mostly in adolescents.

4. The main differences between benign tumors and malignant tumors are as follows.

1. Growth pattern: Benign tumors grow in an expansive manner, with clear boundaries with normal tissues, and most of them have capsules formed around the tumors; while malignant tumors grow in an invasive and destructive manner, with unclear boundaries with the surrounding normal tissues and no obvious capsule formation.

2. Growth rate: Benign tumors usually grow slowly; malignant tumors generally grow rapidly, but may become necrotic and ulcerated because the growing tumor does not receive sufficient blood supply.

3. Recurrence: Benign tumors usually do not recur after surgical resection; malignant tumors are prone to recurrence after surgical resection.

4. Metastasis: Benign tumors usually do not metastasize; malignant tumors can metastasize to other parts of the body through the lymphatic vessels, blood vessels, etc.

5. Degree of differentiation and tissue structure: The differentiated morphology of benign tumor cells is similar to that of normal tissue, and the tissue structure is also similar to the original normal tissue; the degree of differentiation of malignant tumor cells is relatively poor, often showing abnormal morphology to varying degrees, and the tissue structure is also significantly different from the original normal tissue.

6. Impact on the human body and organ functions: Most benign tumors have little effect on organ functions. Larger benign tumors may have a certain degree of compression on tissues and organs, but most do not affect function. However, benign tumors growing in special parts, such as around the spinal cord or inside the skull, can have serious effects. In addition, benign tumors of certain endocrine organs can cause corresponding hyperfunction of the body; in addition to local compression, malignant tumors often destroy and infiltrate adjacent organs and tissues, causing necrosis, ulceration, bleeding, infection and distant metastasis, or causing cachexia, which is very harmful to life.