Cancer

Benign vs malignant, and how we sort it out · Week 3
Cancer starts when carcinogens damage DNA and cells grow out of control. The big question is simple. Is the tumor benign, so it stays put? Or is it malignant, so it invades and spreads? Click each one. Then see how we grade, stage, and name tumors.

How the tumor behaves

Watch whether the tumor stays neatly walled off, or pushes into nearby tissue and spreads.
Pick benign or malignant.
Pick a tumor typebenign vs malignant

What it means

Grading

How abnormal the cells look under the microscope. That is differentiation. Well-differentiated means they still look normal. Poorly differentiated means aggressive.

Staging (TNM)

How far it has spread: Tumor size, lymph Nodes, Metastasis. Local → invasion → nodes → distant organs.
Named for the tissue it starts in
Carcinomaepithelial cells, the body’s linings
Sarcomaconnective tissue
Lymphomalymph tissue
Melanomapigment cells
Myelomaplasma cells
Leukemiawhite blood cells
Gliomanerve tissue
Free radicals are unstable molecules that cause oxidative DNA damage. Antioxidants mop them up. Early warning signs spell CAUTION: Change in bowel or bladder, A sore that will not heal, Unusual bleeding, Thickening or lump, Indigestion, Obvious mole change, Nagging cough.