Question

what is neoplasia ?

Answer 1

The word 'new' can more technically be seen as 'neo.' No, it has nothing to do with Keanu Reeves. 'Neo' is a prefix meaning 'new' in words like neoplasia, which is the abnormal growth and proliferation of abnormal cells or abnormal amounts of cells due to a benign or malignant process.

Neoplasia can be benign or malignant. A benign neoplasm, or a benign tumor, has several general characteristics, including the fact that:

• It does not invade or destroy the surrounding tissue it is growing on
• It does not spread to other parts of the body
• It usually doesn't come back after surgical removal because the tumor itself has well-defined margins that help in its surgical removal

Typically, benign tumors grow slowly and have normal-looking cells and structures or are well-differentiated. This should be contrasted with cancer, or a malignant tumor, which in general:

• Grows quickly
• May metastasize, which is when cancer cells spread around the body
• May come back after surgical removal due to irregular margins
• Invades and destroys surrounding tissues
• Has abnormal-looking cells or structures, which is also called 'poorly differentiated' or 'undifferentiated'