The History of Prostate Cancer

What is Neoplasia? 

​

A neoplasm is an abnormal mass of tissues that results from the excessive division of cells. There are two classifications for neoplasms: (1) Benign and (2) Malignant. 

​

Benign vs. Malignant

​

The difference between these two classifications is whether or not there is any spread of the mass within the body. Malignant neoplasms can spread to nearby and/or distant tissues through the blood and lymphatic systems [20]. Malignant neoplasms, or cancers, are classified in two ways: firstly, by the type of tissues where the cancer originated from; and secondly, by the primary location where it first developed.

 

There are six major categories of cancers based on the type of tissue: carcinoma (epithelial origin), Sarcoma (supportive and connective tissue origin), Myeloma (origin in plasma cells of the bone marrow), Leukemia (origin in glands or nodes of the lymphatic system), and mixed subtypes [18]. 

​

Grade and Staging

 

Grading of malignant neoplasms refers to the degree of differentiation of the cancer cells. Cancer cells that are well-differentiated and closely resemble the tissue of origin are considered low-grade and tend to be less aggressive [16]. However, the more undifferentiated/abnormal a cancer cell looks from the original cell, the higher the grade and the more aggressive the cancer. Tumour staging, on the other hand, refers to the overall extent of the cancer. Staging reflects the size of the tumour and whether or not it has spread, however, this is determined at the time of diagnosis and does not change even if the cancer might [17].