Malignant tumor

Malignant is a tumor in the body, which poses an immediate danger to human life. The ailment is characterized by the appearance of constantly dividing cells, capable of negatively affecting adjacent tissues. In addition, with time, secondary foci often appear in distant organs. At the beginning, tumor growth is a local hidden process, and therefore many people often do not even suspect a problem.

Symptoms and signs of a malignant tumor

Depending on the location of the tumor there are different symptoms. Usually, painful sensations appear only in the later stages. There are several basic signs of the presence of an ailment in the body:

• local symptoms (tightening under the skin, bleeding, inflammation, jaundice);
• general (weight loss and appetite, severe exhaustion, hyperhidrosis, anemia);
• symptoms of metastases (inflammation of the lymph nodes, cough, bone pain, enlarged liver).

Types and stages of malignant tumors

Tumors differ depending on the cells from which they occurred:

• Melanoma appears from melanocytes;
• carcinoma is formed from cells of epithelial tissues (considered the most common malignant tumor);
• leukemia occurs as a result of a defect in the bone marrow;
• sarcoma is an ailment that spreads in bones, muscles and connective tissues;
• lymphoma appears from the altered lymphatic tissue;
• The teratoma arises from the cells of the embryos;
• glioma is a constant growth of glial tissue;
• Choriocarcinoma proliferates from placental cells.

The stage of the disease is determined by a specialist, based on the patient's initial examinations. There are four of them, and they are denoted by Roman numerals:

• I - a tumor no larger than two centimeters, the nearest lymph nodes are intact;
• II - mobile neoplasm more than two centimeters, metastasis in the lymph nodes;
• III - the tumor is inactive, metastases appear in the nearest lymph nodes;
• IV - any size of the neoplasm, the adjacent organs are attacked, secondary foci are observed in the remote parts of the body.

Diagnosis of malignant tumors

To determine the presence of the disease and its stage, various laboratory and instrumental methods are used:

• blood test;
• Radiography and fluoroscopy;
• MRI;
• laparoscopy;
• computer and positron emission tomography;
• dermotoscopy;
• biopsy;
• thermography .

Treatment of malignant tumors

There are several basic methods to cope with the ailment:

1. Radiation therapy - the body is exposed to a directed beam of radiation, which leads to a slowdown in the growth of the neoplasm.
2. Chemotherapy - with the help of a dropper a person is administered special drugs that can influence the DNA of tumor cells, slowing their growth or completely killing them.
3. Immunotherapy - vaccination with interferon preparations.
4. Surgical intervention - removal of a malignant tumor, which in most cases leads to recovery.
5. Hormonotherapy. This method is based on the influence of certain hormones on the development of the neoplasm.
6. Cryotherapy - the effect on the tumor with liquid nitrogen. As a result, inside the malignant cells there is a metabolic disorder. In addition, ice crystals have a destructive effect.
7. Photodynamic therapy . This method is based on the use of photosensitizing substances that selectively accumulate in malignant tissues. Then pathology is irradiated with a special light. As a result, a large number of radicals are formed that destroy atypical cells.