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Carcinoma
Malignancy that develops from epithelial cells / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with carcinoid, which is sometimes a type of carcinoma but is more often benign.
Carcinoma is a malignancy that develops from epithelial cells.[1] Specifically, a carcinoma is a cancer that begins in a tissue that lines the inner or outer surfaces of the body, and that arises from cells originating in the endodermal, mesodermal[2] or ectodermal germ layer during embryogenesis.[3]
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Carcinoma | |
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Micrograph of a lung primary small cell carcinoma, a type of carcinoma. The clustered cancerous cells consist primarily of nucleus (purple); they have only a scant rim of cytoplasm. The surrounding pale staining, discoid cells are red blood cells. Cytopathology specimen. Field stain. | |
Specialty | Oncology |
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Carcinomas occur when the DNA of a cell is damaged or altered and the cell begins to grow uncontrollably and becomes malignant. It is from the Greek: καρκίνωμα, romanized: karkinoma, lit. 'sore, ulcer, cancer' (itself derived from karkinos meaning crab).[4]