ABSTRACT
Cancer (medical term: malignant neoplasm) is a type of tumor. Tumors can be malignant or benign. Malignant tumors have three main characteristics. The fi rst characteristic is uncontrolled growth through proliferation beyond growth of normal cells. Another characteristic is invasion, which involves intrusion upon, and then destruction of adjacent tissues. The third feature is metastasis; for instance, spread of cancer cells to other locations in the body via the lymph or blood. These three malignant properties of cancerous tumors differentiate them from benign tumors, which are self-limited, and do not invade or metastasize.
