Neoplasia and Tumours Quiz

Neoplasia and Tumours: Understanding the Basics

• Neoplasia refers to the process of new growth, and tumour is a synonym, but neoplasia is a more scientific term than tumour.
• Oncology is the study of neoplasms, and the doctors who treat patients with neoplasms are called oncologists.
• Cancer is the common name for all malignant tumours, and malignant tumours are like cancer because they can attach themselves to anything they catch and have multiple limbs.
• A neoplasm is an abnormal mass of tissue whose growth is uncontrollable and persists after cessation of the stimuli that caused the growth. Tumours are the result of genetic alterations that allow the excessive and uncontrolled proliferation of cells independent of physiological growth stimuli.
• Benign tumours are well-defined with regular margins, slowly growing, and do not recur after complete surgical excision, and they have no potential for distant metastasis. Malignant tumours have irregular margins, rapidly grow, are locally invasive, and can metastasise and may recur following surgical excision.
• A significant number of tumours are classified as borderline tumours or tumours of uncertain malignant potential, and in these tumours, the pathologist cannot be sure if the tumour behaves in a benign or malignant way.
• Tumours are classified according to their cell of origin, differentiation, and predictive behaviour. Benign tumours are designated by attaching the suffix -oma to the cell of origin. Malignant tumours of mesenchymal cells are called sarcoma, and malignant tumours of epithelial origin are called carcinoma.
• Sometimes, the name of the tumour describes the tumour cell morphology or the main cell type of the tumour.
• Some tumours originate from more than one germinal layer, giving rise to a mixture of epithelial and mesenchymal tissue components, like benign mixed tumour or malignant mixed tumour.
• Teratoma is a tumour that originates from all three germ lines (ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm). Teratomas can be benign or malignant, depending on their histological components and the age of the patient.
• Hamartoma, Choristoma, Haematoma, and Antibioma are not true neoplasms. Hamartoma is a non-neoplastic abnormal disorganised mass of tissue whose cell types are indigenous to the site of the lesion. Choristoma is an ectopic focus of normal tissue that is present in the wrong anatomic site.
• An Antibioma is a solidified abscess that has been treated with antibiotics and not evacuated, and Haematoma is a collection of blood forming a mass in the tissue.