Cancer, also known as a malignant tumor, is characterized by abnormal cell growth that exceeds normal limits and can invade surrounding tissues and spread to other parts of the body. Neoplasms, which include both benign and malignant tumors, originate from a single cell that has incurred genetic changes causing uncontrolled growth. Benign tumors are generally not life-threatening, remain localized, and do not spread, whereas malignant tumors can invade other tissues and metastasize to distant sites. The behavior and characteristics of tumors are determined by their parenchymal cells and surrounding stromal tissues.

1. NEOPLASI
A

2. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States; only
cardiovascular diseases exact a higher toll.
Neoplasia means “new growth,” and a new growth is called a
neoplasm.
 Tumor originally applied to the swelling caused by inflammation, but
the non-neoplastic usage of tumor has almost vanished; thus, the term
is now equated with neoplasm.
Oncology (Greek oncos = tumor) is the study of tumors or neoplasms.
A neoplasm is an abnormal mass of tissue, the growth of which exceeds
and is uncoordinated with that of the normal tissues and persists in
the same excessive manner after cessation of the stimuli which evoked
the change.
The entire population of neoplastic cells within an individual tumor
arises from a single cell that has incurred genetic change, and hence
tumors are said to be clonal.

3. • A tumor is said to be benign when its microscopic and gross
characteristics are considered relatively innocent, implying that
it will remain localized, it cannot spread to other sites, and it is
generally amenable to local surgical removal; the patient
generally survives.
• Malignant tumors are collectively referred to as cancers,
derived from the Latin word for crab, because they adhere to any
part that they seize on in an obstinate manner, similar to a crab.
Malignant, as applied to a neoplasm, implies that the lesion can
invade and destroy adjacent structures and spread to distant
sites (metastasize) to cause death. But the designation
malignant always raises a red flag.

4.  All tumors, benign and malignant, have two basic components:
(1) clonal neoplastic cells that constitute their parenchyma and
(2) reactive stroma made up of connective tissue, blood vessels, and
variable numbers of macrophages and lymphocytes.
 Although the neoplastic cells largely determine a tumor's
behavior and pathologic consequences, their growth and evolution is
critically dependent on their stroma.
 An adequate stromal blood supply is requisite for the tumor cells to
live and divide, and the stromal connective tissue provides the
structural framework essential for the growing cells.
In addition, there is cross-talk between tumor cells and stromal cells
that directly influences the growth of tumors. In some tumors, the
stromal support is scant and so the neoplasm is soft and fleshy. In
other cases the parenchymal cells stimulate the formation of an
abundant collagenous stroma, referred to as desmoplasia. Some
demoplastic tumors—for example, some cancers of the
female breast—are stony hard or scirrhous.
The nomenclature of tumors and their biologic behavior are based
primarily on the parenchymal component.

5. Benign Tumors.
 In general, benign tumors are designated by attaching the suffix
-oma to the cell of origin.
 Tumors of mesenchymal cells generally follow this rule. For
example, a benign tumor arising in fibrous tisssue is called a
fibroma, whereas a benign cartilaginous tumor is a chondroma.
 In contrast, the nomenclature of benign epithelial tumors is more
complex. These are variously classified, some based on their cells
of origin, others on microscopic pattern, and still others on their
macroscopic architecture.

6. • Adenoma is applied to a benign epithelial neoplasm derived from
glands, although they may or may not form glandular structures.
• Benign epithelial neoplasms producing microscopically or
macroscopically visible finger-like or warty projections from
epithelial surfaces are referred to as papillomas.
• Those that form , as in the ovary, are referred to as
cystadenomas.
• Some tumors produce papillary patterns that protrude into cystic
spaces and are called papillary cystadenomas.
• When a neoplasm, benign or malignant, produces a
macroscopically visible projection above a mucosal surface and
projects, for example, into the gastric or colonic lumen, it is
termed a polyp.

7. Colonic polyp. A, This benign glandular tumor (adenoma) is projecting into
the colonic lumen and is attached to the mucosa by a distinct stalk. B,
Gross appearance of several colonic polyps.

8. .
Malignant Tumors.
 Malignant tumors arising in mesenchymal tissue are usually called
sarcomas (Greek sar = fleshy), because they have little connective tissue
stroma and so are fleshy (e.g., fibrosarcoma, chondrosarcoma,
leiomyosarcoma, and rhabdomyosarcoma).
 Malignant neoplasms of epithelial cell origin, derived from any of the
three germ layers, are called carcinomas.
 Carcinomas may be further qualified:
Squamous cell carcinoma would denote a cancer in which the tumor cells
resemble stratified squamous epithelium;
adenocarcinoma denotes a lesion in which the neoplastic epithelial cells
grow in glandular patterns.
 Sometimes the tissue or organ of origin can be identified, as in the
designation of renal cell adenocarcinoma or bronchogenic squamous cell
carcinoma.
 Not infrequently, however, a cancer is composed of undifferentiated cells
of unknown tissue origin, and must be designated merely as an
undifferentiated malignant tumor.

9. .
• In many benign and malignant neoplasms, the parenchymal cells
bear a close resemblance to each other, as though all were derived
from a single cell, are of monoclonal origin.
• Infrequently, divergent differentiation of a single neoplastic clone
along two lineages creates what are called mixed tumors. The best
example of this is the mixed tumor of salivary gland origin. These
tumors contain epithelial components scattered within a myxoid
stroma that sometimes contains islands of cartilage or bone. All these
elements, it is believed, arise from a single clone capable of giving
rise to epithelial and myoepithelial cells; thus, the preferred
designation of these neoplasms is pleomorphic adenoma.
Thismixed tumor of the
parotid gland contains
epithelial cellsforming ducts
and myxoid stromathat
resemblescartilage.

10.  Teratoma contains recognizable mature or immature cells or tissues
representative of more than one germ cell layer and sometimes all three.
 Teratomas originate from totipotential cells such as those normally present
in the ovary and testis and sometimes abnormally present in sequestered
midline embryonic rests.
 Such cells have the capacity to differentiate into any of the cell types found
in the adult body and so, not surprisingly, may give rise to neoplasms that
mimic, in a helter-skelter fashion, bits of bone, epithelium, muscle, fat,
nerve, and other tissues.
 When all the component parts are well differentiated, it is a benign (mature)
teratoma; when less well differentiated, it is an immature, potentially or
overtly, malignant teratoma.
 A particularly common pattern is seen in the ovarian cystic teratoma
(dermoid cyst), which differentiates principally along ectodermal lines to
create a cystic tumor lined by skin replete with hair, sebaceous glands, and
tooth structures .

11. .
A, Grossappearanceof an opened cystic teratomaof theovary. Notethe
presenceof hair, sebaceousmaterial, and tooth. B, A microscopic view of a
similar tumor showsskin, sebaceousglands, fat cells, and atract of neural
tissue(arro w).

12. .
 In general, benign and malignant tumors can be distinguished
on the basis of differentiation and anaplasia, rate of growth,
local invasion, and metastasis.
 Differentiation refers to the extent to which neoplastic parenchymal
cells resemble the corresponding normal parenchymal cells, both
morphologically and functionally;
 Lack of differentiation is called anaplasia.
 In general, benign tumors are well differentiated.
 The neoplastic cell in a benign adipocyte tumor—a lipoma—so closely
resembles the normal cell that it may be impossible to recognize it as
a tumor by microscopic examination of individual cells. Only the
growth of these cells into a discrete mass discloses the neoplastic
nature of the lesion.
 In well-differentiated benign tumors, mitoses are extremely scant in
number and are of normal configuration.

13. .
Leiomyoma of the uterus. This
benign, well-differentiated tumor
contains interlacing bundles of
neoplastic smooth muscle cells
that are virtually identical in
appearance to normal smooth
muscle cells in the myometrium.
Benign tumor (adenoma) of the
thyroid. Notethenormal-looking
(well-differentiated), colloid-filled
thyroid follicles

14. .
 Malignant neoplasms are characterized by a wide range of parenchymal cell
differentiation, from surprisingly well differentiated to completely
undifferentiated.
 Certain well-differentiated adenocarcinomas of the thyroid, for example, may
form normal-appearing follicles, and some squamous cell carcinomas contain
cells that do not differ cytologically from normal squamous epithelial cells .
 Thus, the morphologic diagnosis of malignancy in well-differentiated tumors
may sometimes be quite difficult.
 In between the two extremes lie tumors that are loosely referred to as
moderately well differentiated.
 Malignant neoplasms that are composed of poorly differentiated cells are said
to be anaplastic.
 Lack of differentiation, or anaplasia, is considered a hallmark of malignancy.
 In well-differentiated tumors , daughter cells derived from these “cancer stem
cells” retain the capacity for differentiation, whereas in poorly differentiated
tumors that capacity is lost.

15. .
 Malignant tumor (adenocarcinoma) of
the colon. Note that compared with
the well-formed and normal-looking
glands characteristic of a benign
tumor (see Fig. 7-5 ), the cancerous
glands are irregular in shape and size
and do not resemble the normal
colonic glands. This tumor is
considered differentiated because
gland formation can be seen. The
malignant glands have invaded the
muscular layer of the colon.
 Well-differentiated squamous cell
carcinoma of the skin. The tumor cells
are strikingly similar to normal
squamous epithelial cells, with
intercellular bridges and nests of
keratin pearls (arrow).