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Cancer cells are cells that divide continually, forming solid tumors or flooding the blood or lymph with abnormal cells. Cell division is a normal process used by the body for growth and repair. A parent cell divides to form two daughter cells, and these daughter cells are used to build new tissue or to replace cells that have died because of ...
Cells have the ability to 'self-destruct'; a process known as apoptosis. This is required for organisms to grow and develop properly, for maintaining tissues of the body, and is also initiated when a cell is damaged or infected. Cancer cells, however, lose this ability; even though cells may become grossly abnormal, they do not undergo apoptosis.
When malignant cells form, symptoms do not typically appear until there has been a significant growth of the mass. Once signs and symptoms do arise, they are dependent on the location, size and type of malignancy.
A neoplasm or tumor is a group of cells that have undergone unregulated growth and will often form a mass or lump, but may be distributed diffusely. [27] [28] All tumor cells show the six hallmarks of cancer. These characteristics are required to produce a malignant tumor. They include: [29] Cell growth and division absent the proper signals
The term carcinoma has also come to encompass malignant tumors composed of transformed cells whose origin or developmental lineage is unknown (see cancer of unknown primary origin; CUP), but that possess certain specific molecular, cellular, and histological characteristics typical of epithelial cells.
Malignant neoplasms are also simply known as cancers and are the focus of oncology. Prior to the abnormal growth of tissue, such as neoplasia, cells often undergo an abnormal pattern of growth, such as metaplasia or dysplasia. [8] However, metaplasia or dysplasia does not always progress to neoplasia and can occur in other conditions as well. [3]
Most of the cancer cells that detach from the tumor mass and invade the surrounding tissues are known to undergo certain changes, acquiring the morphological properties and a phenotype typical of mesenchymal cells. This transformation of a malignant epithelial cell, which is related to the emergence of new molecular and morphological features ...
The chromatin of malignant giant cells tends to be hyperchromatic and coarsely clumped. Nucleoli are usually multiple and prominent. [9] Subcellular characteristics often noted in the malignant giant cells of GCCL cases include abundant mitochondria, concentric whorls of tonofilament-like fibrils, and aggregates of several pairs of centrioles. [12]