Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?
Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of Graph Search.
Concept
Neoplasm
Summary
A neoplasm (ˈniː.oʊˌplæzəm,_ˈniː.ə-) is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists in growing abnormally, even if the original trigger is removed. This abnormal growth usually forms a mass, when it may be called a tumour or tumor.
ICD-10 classifies neoplasms into four main groups: benign neoplasms, in situ neoplasms, malignant neoplasms, and neoplasms of uncertain or unknown behavior. Malignant neoplasms are also simply known as cancers and are the focus of oncology.
Prior to the abnormal growth of tissue, as neoplasia, cells often undergo an abnormal pattern of growth, such as metaplasia or dysplasia. However, metaplasia or dysplasia does not always progress to neoplasia and can occur in other conditions as well. The word is from Ancient Greek νέος- neo 'new' and πλάσμα plasma 'formation, creation'.
A neoplasm can be benign, potentially malignant, or malignant (cancer).
Benign tumors include uterine fibroids, osteophytes and melanocytic nevi (skin moles). They are circumscribed and localized and do not transform into cancer.
Potentially-malignant neoplasms include carcinoma in situ. They are localised, do not invade and destroy but in time, may transform into a cancer.
Malignant neoplasms are commonly called cancer. They invade and destroy the surrounding tissue, may form metastases and, if untreated or unresponsive to treatment, will generally prove fatal.
Secondary neoplasm refers to any of a class of cancerous tumor that is either a metastatic offshoot of a primary tumor, or an apparently unrelated tumor that increases in frequency following certain cancer treatments such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
Rarely there can be a metastatic neoplasm with no known site of the primary cancer and this is classed as a cancer of unknown primary origin.
Official source
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.