Malignancy (from the Latin roots mal- = "bad" and -genus = "born") is the tendency of a medical condition, especially tumors to become progressively worse and to potentially result in death. It is characterized by the properties of anaplasia, invasiveness, and metastasis.^[1] Malignant is a corresponding adjectival medical term used to describe a severe and progressively worsening disease. The term is most familiar as a description of cancer. A malignant tumor may be contrasted with a non-cancerous benign tumor in that a malignancy is not self-limited in its growth, is capable of invading into adjacent tissues, and may be capable of spreading to distant tissues (metastasizing), while a benign tumor has none of those properties. Malignant tumor is synonymous with cancer. Uses of "malignant" in oncology:

• Malignancy, malignant neoplasm, and malignant tumor are synonymous with cancer
• Malignant ascites
• Malignant transformation

Non-oncologic disorders referred to as "malignant":

• Malignant hypertension
• Malignant hyperthermia
• Malignant otitis externa
• Malignant tertian malaria (Malaria caused specifically by Plasmodium falciparum)
• Neuroleptic malignant syndrome

[edit] See also

Look up malignancy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Benignity (the opposite of malignancy)
• Premalignant

[edit] References

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008)

This medical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e