Benign tumors are those that stay in their primary location without invading other sites of the body. They do not spread to local structures or to distant parts of the body. Benign tumors tend to grow slowly and have distinct borders.
If the cells in the tumor are normal, it's benign. If they're abnormal and grow uncontrollably, they're cancerous cells and the tumor is malignant.
Adenomas are benign tumors that develop in organs and glands. A polyp is a common one found in the colon. Less than 1 out of 10 become malignant.
A benign tumor has distinct, smooth, regular borders. A malignant tumor has irregular borders and grows faster than a benign tumor. A malignant tumor can also spread to other parts of your body. A benign tumor can become quite large, but it will not invade nearby tissue or spread to other parts of your body.
Benign tumors are not usually problematic. However, they can become large and compress structures nearby, causing pain or other medical complications. For example, a large benign lung tumor could compress the trachea (windpipe) and cause difficulty in breathing. This would warrant urgent surgical removal.
Lipomas: Lipomas are formed by fat cells. They are the most common type of benign tumor. Meningiomas: These tumors develop in the brain and spinal cord membranes and are most commonly benign.
Benign neoplasms do not invade surrounding tissues and they do not metastasize. Thus, characteristics include: Slow growth. Resemblance to tissue of origin (well differentiated)
An MRI with contrast dye is the best way to see brain and spinal cord tumors. Using MRI, doctors can sometimes tell if a tumor is or isn't cancer. MRI can also be used to look for signs that cancer may have metastasized (spread) from where it started to another part of the body.
If the benign tumor is small, not growing and not causing any harm to the patient, it can be left alone. Even benign tumors in or around the brain only need to be removed if they are causing, or are likely to cause, neurological problems.
Many noncancerous tumors don't need treatment. But some noncancerous tumors press on other body parts and do need medical care. Precancerous: These noncancerous tumors can become cancerous if not treated.
In addition, some benign tumors can develop into cancerous ones. Most cysts are also benign, but are usually removed as they can grow larger and cause symptoms or become infected.
Benign tumors grow only in one place. They cannot spread or invade other parts of your body. Even so, they can be dangerous if they press on vital organs, such as your brain. Tumors are made up of extra cells.
New cells form when your body does not need them, and old cells do not die when they should. These extra cells can divide without stopping and may form tumor. Treatment often involves surgery. Benign tumors usually don't grow back.
Lumps that could be cancer might be found by imaging tests or felt as lumps during a physical exam, but they still must be sampled and looked at under a microscope to find out what they really are. Not all lumps are cancer. In fact, most tumors are not cancer.
Can a CT scan detect cancer? A CT scan, like any imaging tool, cannot detect cancer, though it may be useful in helping to identify a mass and determine its location and size.
Unlike malignant tumors, a benign tumor is not cancerous and will not spread to other nearby tissues. In many cases, a person with a benign tumor will not suffer significant health effects. If the tumor lies on a critical organ or structure, the oncologist may need to remove or treat it.
Treatment of Benign Tumors
But treatment may be needed if symptoms are a problem. Surgery is a common type of treatment for benign tumors. The goal is to remove the tumor without damaging surrounding tissues. Other types of treatment may include medication or radiation.
Some masses can be watched over time with regular mammograms or ultrasound to see if they change, but others may need to be checked with a biopsy. The size, shape, and margins (edges) of the mass can help the radiologist decide how likely it is to be cancer.
Usually considered benign tumors, meningiomas can display aggressive behavior characterized by multiple recurrences and invasion of the brain, dura, and adjacent bone.
Benign tumors are noncancerous. Malignant tumors are cancerous. Once your doctor determines what type of tumor you have, they can decide what treatment plan is best for you. Though it's possible for a benign tumor to turn malignant, this is not common.
The staging system for benign musculoskeletal tumors (Table 1) consists of three categories: ie, latent, active, and aggressive [4].
In most cases, doctors need to do a biopsy to be certain that you have cancer. A biopsy is a procedure in which the doctor removes a sample of abnormal tissue. A pathologist looks at the tissue under a microscope and runs other tests on the cells in the sample.
Meningiomas are relatively common, slow-growing, generally benign tumors with an incidence of 2% to 3% per 100,000 population (2). They are the most common extra-axial tumors in adults and the most common nonglial primary neoplasms of the brain. Meningiomas represent 15% to 18% of all primary in-tracranial tumors (1).