RT Book, Section
A1 Kaiser, Andreas M.
A1 Etzioni, David
A1 Beart, Robert W.
A2 Zinner, Michael J.
A2 Ashley, Stanley W.
SR Print(0)
ID 57014817
T1 Chapter 36. Tumors of the Colon
T2 Maingot's Abdominal Operations, 12e
YR 2013
FD 2013
PB The McGraw-Hill Companies
PP New York, NY
SN 978-0-07-163388-8
LK accesssurgery.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=57014817
RD 2024/04/24
AB Tumor  is  a  descriptive  term  for  a  growth  or  mass  of  cells  that  are  independent  of  the  physiologic  function  or  demand  of  their  surrounding  structures.  The  two  characteristic  biological  growth  patterns  of  tumors  include  the  ability  to  (1)  disrespect  tissue  boundaries  and  invade  other  structures  (invasiveness)  and  (2)  gain  access  to  blood  and  lymph  vessels  or  other  structures  to  spread  tumor  cells  to  distant  locations,  and  allow  these  specially  equipped  cells  to  survive  and  grow  new  remote  tumors  (metastases).  If  a  tumor  does  not  have  either  property,  it  is  benign;  if  a  tumor  can  invade  locally  but  even  at  a  large  size  does  not  have  a  tendency  to  metastasize,  it  is  called  semimalignant;  and  if  a  tumor  has  the  ability  to  metastasize  once  a  sufficient  size  is  reached,  it  is  a  malignant  tumor.