- A term for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control. Cancer cells can invade nearby tissues and can spread through the bloodstream and lymphatic system to other parts of the body.
- new abnormal tissue that grows by excessive cellular division and proliferation more rapidly than normal and continues to grow after the stimuli that initiated the new growth cease; tumors perform no useful body function and may be benign or malignant; benign neoplasms are a noncancerous growth that does not invade nearby tissue or spread to other parts of the body; malignant neoplasms or cancer show a greater degree of anaplasia and have the properties of invasion and metastasis; neoplasm terms herein do not distinguish between benign or malignant states, use references listed to cover this concept.
- A tumor composed of atypical neoplastic, often pleomorphic cells that invade other tissues. Malignant neoplasms often metastasize to distant anatomic sites and may recur after excision. The most common malignant neoplasms are carcinomas (adenocarcinomas or squamous cell carcinomas), Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas, leukemias, melanomas, and sarcomas.