7. tumour behaviour and spread

Question 1

what type of tumour is this? how does it spread?

Answer 1

benign

SOLID ORGANS

expand, and compress adjacent tissue. This gives the appearance of being well circumscribed. They grow evenly in all directions, giving a spherical mass

Question 2

BENIGN TUMOURS ON EPITHELIAL SURFACES how do they grow

Answer 2

form papillary outgrowths, growing in the direction of least resistance. Because of their papillary shape they are called papillomas

Question 3

Answer 3

Expand but INFILTRATE and INVADE adjacent tissue. Thus they are irregular in outline, with indistinct edges.

malignant

Question 4

how do we tell if a tumour is malignant at an advanced stage?

Answer 4

clinical and imaging evidence of spread

Question 5

how do we know a tumour is malignant at early stages

Answer 5

biopsy- histology

to assess cytological characteristics

Question 6

does dysplasia in tumour cells always mean invasive behaviour?

Answer 6

USUALLY BUT NOT ALWAYS.

Dysplasia in an epithelium does not always show

invasion across the epithelial basement membrane.

This is called carcinoma-in-situ or intra-epithelial

neoplasia.

Question 7

what happens to dysplasia

Answer 7

Sometimes dysplasia disappears (regresses)

BUT

MORE OFTEN, IT TURNS INTO INVASIVE MALIGNANCY

Question 8

how can benign tumours cause illness and death

Answer 8

bleeding

pressure on adjacent vital structures eg in brain

obstruction eg in brain, bronchus

hormone secretion eg pituitary adenoma

conversion to a malignant tumour