Diagnosis and treatment of tumors required a thorough study of their morphology and histology. Oncologists studied the factors of transformation of normal cells into tumor cells, types and growth rates, and degrees of cell differentiation. Based on this information, the volume of surgical treatment, prognosis and tactics of observation are determined. And since oncological diseases are diagnosed more and more often, the patient must have an idea about oncology. Therefore, such concepts as endophytic or exophytic growth, metastasis, recurrence and many others, he must know and understand the differences between them.
Typing of tumors by growth centers
Benign or malignant neoplasms are transformed normal cells of the body that have lost control of cell division. Their growth rate directly depends on the availability of nutrients and cannot be suppressed by tissue factors of the body. This is how the primary center of the tumor is formed, which consists of cells that are currentlypoint in time multiply rapidly and uncontrollably.
Depending on the number of such centers in the formed neoplasm, all tumors are divided into unicentric and multicentric. The former developed from one primary center, while the others developed from several. As a result, multicentric, having several sources for growth at once, develop and manifest faster, and are more difficult to treat.
Unicentric for a long time are not recognized symptomatically, but may metastasize early. As a result, even before the development of a large tumor with endophytic or exophytic growth, the neoplasm already has screenings in distant tissues, significantly complicating treatment. This explains the difference in the rate of tumor growth and the main difficulties in diagnosis. The patient will not turn until he has no symptoms, and therefore such an insidious course of the disease provides many difficulties in treatment.
Typing in the direction of growth
Endophytic and exophytic neoplasm growth are types of enlargement of the cell population depending on its direction. That is, tumors are distinguished depending on whether they grow outside the organ or inside it. In the case of a parenchymal organ (liver or pancreas), a tumor with an endophytic type of growth spreads inward. Exophytic growth in parenchymal organs is the spread of a tumor from the surface (or its thickness) outward, after which the neoplasm becomes visible.
Tumor growth in holloworgans
In the study of neoplasms of hollow organs (intestines, stomach, bladder, uterus and others), similar patterns can be traced. Endophytic type is the growth of a neoplasm in the wall of an organ. Exophytic growth in hollow organs is the spread of a neoplasm from the surface of the inner epithelium (or the middle layers of the organ wall) outward with access to the lumen of the cavity. Here, an exophytic tumor can be seen, while in the case of an endophytic tumor, there are either no signs of its presence, or the epithelium is only slightly deformed on the surface of the organ. This is one of the clearest explanations why not all tumors are detected during endoscopy.
Typification by growth pattern
For the purpose of prognosis and further study of neoplasms, it makes sense to classify tumors according to the nature of their growth. In accordance with this feature, there are three types of increase in neoplasm in size. The first is expansive growth: the tumor is formed in the form of one solid node or a rounded formation, one can see a clear boundary between he althy tissue and tumor tissue. It grows over the entire surface, pushing and squeezing the surrounding tissues, but without destroying them. Often with expansive growth, there is a clear connective tissue capsule.
The second, infiltrating type of growth is the pushing of a growing tumor between tissues, sprouting into the spaces between them. And if expansive growth is characteristic of a benign neoplasm, then infiltrative growth is characteristic of a malignant one. Heunfavorable in terms of prognosis, it is more difficult to diagnose and remove it surgically. As a result, large-scale surgeries are performed.
Apposite growth (the third type) is the growth of a tumor from a primary source by layer-by-layer oncotransformation of he althy cells. The neoplasm, as it were, turns the surrounding tissues into an oncological tumor in the place where it contacts with he althy cells. This type of growth is most often characteristic of the initial stages of neoplasm development; it has signs of exophytic and endophytic tumor growth.
Exophytic tumors
A huge number of epithelial tumors grow into the cavity of the organ or out. And if the cavity is large enough, like the stomach, then the symptoms will appear late. But when the neoplasm grows into a narrow duct and, when it reaches a small size, it blocks it, characteristic symptoms begin to appear. It is even easier to notice the appearance of a tumor with exophytic outward growth. Then localization becomes visible, which helps to recognize the presence of the disease at an early stage.
Exophytic form of tumor growth is typical for neoplasms of hollow organs and skin. They can be seen during endoscopic studies, during a surgical operation, as well as during examination by an otorhinolaryngologist, general practitioner, gynecologist. This speeds up diagnosis and treatment, allowing for a better prognosis for the patient.
Endophytic tumors
Breast cancer is a typical example of a tumor with endophytic growth. Often the endophytic type of growth is combined withinfiltrative, which ensures rapid metastasis and is often accompanied by relapses after surgical treatment. In this regard, exophytic and endophytic growth are very different.
Endophytic tumors later manifest themselves symptomatically, as they grow into the thickness of the parenchymal or into the wall of a hollow organ. In the case of breast cancer, the endophytic tumor appears much later than the exophytic one. Often this happens after metastasis, which is why a small neoplasm becomes dangerous in the focus of screening - the lungs, lymphatic system, bones.
