In medicine, carcinoma is any cancer that arises from epithelial cells. It is malignant by definition: carcinomas invade surrounding tissues and organs, and may spread to lymph nodes and distal sites (metastasis). Carcinoma in situ (CIS) is a pre-malignant condition, in which cytological signs of malignancy are present, but there is no histological evidence of invasion through the epithelial basement membrane. Medicine on the Web Medical Alarm & Use Medical Marijuana NLM (National Library of Medicine, contains resources for patients and healthcare professionals) Virtual Hospital (digital health sciences library by the University of Iowa) Online Medical Information- medical news, links and resources. ... When normal cells are damaged beyond repair, they are eliminated by apoptosis. ... In zootomy, epithelium is a tissue composed of a layer of cells. ... Structure of the lymph node. ... Metastasis (Greek: change of the state) is the spread of cancer from its primary site to other places in the body. ... Carcinoma in situ is present when a tumor has been detected that has the characteristics of malignancy but has not invaded other tissues. ...

Types of carcinoma

Carcinoma, like all neoplasia, is classified by its histopathological appearance. Adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, two common descriptive terms for tumours, reflect the fact that these cells may have glandular or squamous cell appearances respectively. Severely anaplastic tumours might be so undifferentiated that they do not have a distinct histological appearance. The pathological mechanisms and forms taken by tissue during degeneration into a neoplasm and its subsequent activity. ... In medicine, squamous cell carcinoma is a form of cancer of the carcinoma type that may occur in many different organs, including the skin, the esophagus, the lungs, and the cervix. ...

Sometimes a tumor is referred to by the presumptive organ of the primary (eg carcinoma of the prostate) or the putative cell of origin (hepatocellular carcinoma, renal cell carcinoma). Prostate cancer is a disease in which cancer develops in the prostate, a gland important in male reproduction. ... Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC, also called hepatoma or liver cancer) is a primary malignancy (cancer) of the liver. ... Renal cell carcinoma, also known by the eponym Grawitz tumor, is the most common form of kidney cancer arising from the renal tubule. ...

Staging

Carcinomas, like all cancers, are staged according to the extent of disease. The UICC/AJCC TNM system is often used, however for some common tumours, classic staging methods (such as the Dukes classification for colon cancer) are still used. TNM Classification of Malignant Tumours (TNM) is the system developed and maintained by the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) to maintain consensus on one globally recognised standard for categorising cancer. ...

See also

• Cancer
• Sarcoma
• Hematological malignancy
• Basal cell carcinoma

When normal cells are damaged beyond repair, they are eliminated by apoptosis. ... A sarcoma is a cancer of the bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, blood vessels, or other connective or supportive tissue. ... Although hematological malignancies are a form of cancer, they are generally treated by specialists in hematology, although in many hospitals oncology specialists also manage these diseases. ... Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common skin cancer in humans. ...