Benign tumor

Introduction: Benign tumor

A benign tumor is one that does not spread or "metastasize" to other parts of the body; a "malignant tumor" is one that does. A benign tumor is caused by cell overgrowth, and thus is different from a cyst or an abcess,

Although benign is better news than malignant for a cancer biopsy, it does not always mean "harmless", though many are almost harmless. A benign tumor may still grow, and this growth may cause damage to any organs, tissues, or nerves in its vicinity. Hence, a benign tumor can still cause serious illness and death if it presses on important areas. Benign tumors cause more than 13,000 annual deaths in the USA, compared to more than 500,000 annual deaths from cancer (i.e. from malignant tumors).

Symptoms of Benign tumor

• Lump
• Pain
• Swelling
• Inflammation

Home Diagnostic Testing

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Medical Textbooks Online about Benign tumor

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Wrongly Diagnosed with Benign tumor?

• Misdiagnosis of Benign tumor
• Failure to diagnose Benign tumor
• Underlying causes of Benign tumor (possibly wrongly diagnosed)
• Failure to diagnose Benign tumor

Misdiagnosis and Benign tumor

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Read more about Misdiagnosis and Benign tumor

Causes of Benign tumor

Read more about causes of Benign tumor.

More information about causes of Benign tumor:

• Benign tumor as a complication caused by other conditions
• Benign tumor as a symptom

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Patient Surveys for Benign tumor

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Prognosis for Benign tumor

More about prognosis of Benign tumor

Reseach about Benign tumor

Visit our research pages for current research about Benign tumor treatments.

Statistics for Benign tumor

• Medical statistics for Benign tumor
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Benign tumor
• Death and Mortality statistics for Benign tumor
• Society statistics for Benign tumor

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Article Excerpts about Benign tumor

Benign tumors are not cancer. They can often be removed and, in most cases, they do not come back. Cells from benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the body. Most important, benign tumors are rarely a threat to life. (Source: excerpt from What You Need To Know About Cancer - An Overview: NCI)

Definitions of Benign tumor:

A tumor that is not cancerous - (Source - WordNet 2.1)