Is there a difference between a cyst and a tumor?

I'm Dr. Xiaoying, an imaging doctor. As an imaging doctor, I have to deal with cysts and tumors almost every day. Cysts and tumors are swollen, so is there a difference between them? There are differences between the two, but there are also some connections.

What is a cyst?

In terms of image morphology, cysts are very different from tumors. We can understand it this way. A simple cyst is a plastic bag full of water. Different components of water can have different properties. It can be a bag of clear tap water or a bag of water mixed with some blood. There is a layer of endothelial cells on the capsule of cyst, which can continuously secrete liquid or protein substances. So the cyst can be enlarged or stabilized.

For example, the most common hepatic cysts and renal cysts are found by physical examination, and most of them have no symptoms. Small ones can be left untreated, and those with symptoms can choose interventional therapy, and the effect is good.

There are ovarian cysts and simple ovarian cysts, which are also full of water, but there will be certain symptoms. You can do surgical resection. There is also a chocolate cyst, which is due to ovarian endometriosis. Menstrual bleeding, ovarian bleeding, and then wrapped up to form a cyst. Because there is new and old blood, the same color as chocolate, it is called chocolate cyst. This is also benign and can be controlled by taking medicine. Serious need for surgery.

Cyst is a kind of tumor.

In fact, cyst is a special form of tumor. Simple cysts are benign masses. But some are not simple cysts, but complex cysts.

The cyst just mentioned is a bag of water, but some cysts not only have water, but also have some soft tissues on the cyst wall, and the cyst wall is small, which is difficult to distinguish in the image. If there are nodules on the cyst wall, it may be a tumor or a bad tumor, which is the possibility of cancer.

For example, many friends ask whether liver and kidney cysts must be benign. Not all are benign, but most of them are benign. But there are few small nodules on the cyst wall. Once you see such a performance, it is very likely that the cyst has changed from benign to malignant and a defect has occurred.

There are also many tumors in the form of cysts, that is, not only water, but also other solid components. Simple cysts are not enhanced by CT or magnetic vibration, but cysts with solid components are different, and enhancement will be enhanced. Seeing such a performance on the image, we must consider the possibility of tumor. Such as cystadenoma, cystadenocarcinoma and cystic renal carcinoma.

A few days ago, I saw a case, a 2 1 year-old girl, and found a tumor of 10cm in the liver, not only with cystic parts, but also with many solid soft tissues, so I didn't consider the simple cyst in the image. We must consider the tumor. And this girl is very good, a rare malignant tumor of the liver.

Cysts and tumors are different, but they are also related. I really want to tell you. Whether it is a cyst or a tumor, the image is still very characteristic. Don't worry too much. If you find that the image report is a simple cyst, then don't worry too much. Simple cysts, especially hepatic and renal cysts, have no symptoms and do not need treatment. If it is a tumor, then it is necessary to find out what kind of tumor it is. Most cysts do not become malignant, so if you find liver and kidney cysts, don't worry.

Is there a difference between a cyst and a tumor? Of course, there are differences, but sometimes there are some intersections, and the two are not completely unrelated.

As an independent medical term, cyst is a benign lesion, including congenital cyst and acquired cyst, such as hepatic cyst, renal cyst and ovarian cyst. In most cases, this kind of cyst does not need treatment, just observation and follow-up. But it also depends on the specific situation, such as the cyst is too big to consider treatment; For example, there is an ovarian cyst called chocolate cyst, which is essentially endometriosis to the ovary, thus forming a cyst. Ovarian cysts with menstrual cycle bleeding and accumulated old bleeding every month, or other causes leading to pedicle torsion and acute abdomen, should also be treated.

However, we can't think that cysts have nothing to do with tumors, and some malignant tumors may also appear in the form of cysts. This may be because the blood supply in the cancer center can't keep up, which leads to unfavorable and liquefaction, thus forming cysts or cystic lesions, but such cysts are usually easier to distinguish. Take ovarian cysts as an example. There are many kinds of ovarian cysts, such as follicular cysts, lutein cysts, chocolate cysts, yolk sac tumors (endodermal sinus tumors), tubal ovarian mesangial cysts and so on. Although most ovarian cysts are benign, you should not take it for granted that ovarian cystic lesions must not be cancer, and a few ovarian cysts may be malignant. For example, yolk sac tumor (endodermal sinus tumor) is a kind of malignant ovarian reproduction that originated from yolk sac in extraembryonic structure.

In fact, to put it bluntly, a cyst is actually a bag of liquid wrapped in a "capsule" It can be said that a cyst is only a morphological description, not a disease diagnosis itself. There are congenital, acquired, physiological, pathological, benign and malignant (but most of them are benign), which cannot be generalized.

When going to the clinic, people often come to consult the physical examination report and ask if the liver cyst and kidney cyst in the report are tumors. In fact, cysts and tumors are very different.

What is a cyst? What should I do if I get a cyst?

Cyst is a benign disease, which can grow on the surface of human body, such as subcutaneous cyst and sheath cyst; It can also grow in internal organs, such as liver cysts, kidney cysts and ovarian cysts. Cysts have a cavity structure, with walls outside and liquid or other components inside. Most of them are round, and the protruding skin surface is semicircular. Because the capsule wall is wrapped, the edge is smooth and tidy, and there is little adhesion with surrounding tissues, so it is smooth and elastic and cystic. The surface skin is mostly non-inflammatory, but the skin color is normal. Like a raw egg with a shell, wrapped in a film in some liquid. The cyst was hypoechoic on B-ultrasound, extremely low density on CT, and hardly developed on angiography due to fewer blood vessels. Compared with tumors, cysts are better defined. Most cysts are caused by congenital inheritance, and some of them are unknown. When the cyst is small, it doesn't need any treatment. When the cyst is large and has symptoms of organ compression, such as giant liver cyst and multiple renal cysts, it needs needle aspiration or surgical resection. Cyst it is not a tumor, it will not become cancerous, and it will not affect normal life.

Tumors are also different from what is usually called cancer. Tumors are divided into benign tumors and malignant tumors. Malignant tumors are divided into cancer and sarcoma. It can be seen that cancer is only one kind of tumor.

Benign tumor: Benign tumor refers to the abnormal proliferation of some tissues and cells in the body, which is characterized by expansive growth, gradually expanding like a balloon and growing slowly. Cells in benign tumors are the same as or close to normal cells, and they are all mature cells. Because the tumor is growing, it can squeeze the surrounding tissues without invading the adjacent normal tissues. Tumors are mostly spherical and nodular. Envelope is often formed around it, so it has obvious boundary with normal tissue and can be moved by touching it with hands. A benign tumor is like a hard-boiled egg with a smooth and complete surface. It is easy to be resected during operation, and there is no metastasis and few recurrence after resection. It has little effect on the body.

Malignant tumor: Malignant tumor usually refers to the abnormal changes of cells. The greater the morphological difference from normal cells, the higher the degree of malignancy. Malignant tumors are usually irregular nodules or cauliflower-like, and some even have no obvious lumps, but they form huge ulcers, such as ulcerative gastric cancer. The tumor forms a concave ulcer in the gastric mucosa, like a "crater". The malignant tumor is shaped like a clawing crab, with numerous tentacles extending out and infiltrating into normal tissues. The gold standard for diagnosis of malignant tumor is not only visual observation, but also pathological biopsy and microscopic staining to observe cell morphology. Some small round cell tumors, such as lymphoma and small cell lung cancer, must be diagnosed by immunohistochemistry. The biggest feature of malignant tumor is that cells will fall off, plant, transfer to the whole body along blood vessels and lymphatic vessels, and take root and sprout in suitable places. This is called metastasis. When it develops to a certain stage, there will generally be symptoms such as pain, bleeding, ulcer and obstruction. Due to the consumption of nutrients, it will cause loss of appetite, emaciation, low fever and so on.

It can be seen that cysts don't have to worry, and benign tumors are not terrible. Real malignant tumors need timely medical treatment, timely diagnosis and timely treatment.

There are many cases of cysts and tumors when I go to work every day in the hospital. Cysts are very different from tumors. Cyst is a kind of cystic tissue structure, which is filled with another substance, the most common is liquid, and most tumors are solid masses.

Let's talk about cysts first. The most common is hepatic cyst, which is encountered every day. Of course, we will grow cysts in many parts, such as kidney cysts, liver cysts, cervical cysts, chocolate cysts, ovarian cysts and so on. The causes of cyst formation in these different parts are different. Some patients with cysts are congenital, and some patients are sequelae caused by inflammation.

But generally speaking, cyst is also a benign lesion, so we don't have to worry about it. Some small cysts don't even need treatment, such as liver cysts, whose maximum transverse diameter is less than 5cm. When there is no clinical feeling, they often don't need surgery, so they can be followed up regularly.

Then talk about tumors. Tumors are usually lumps formed by abnormally proliferating cells, including benign tumors and malignant tumors. Benign tumors include lipoma, fibroma and osteoma. The growth rate is very slow, and sometimes it does not increase for several years.

Malignant tumors are different. The most common are all kinds of cancers and sarcomas, which grow very fast and seriously threaten patients' lives. If malignant tumor is found in the late stage, it is likely to lose life.

Therefore, there is a great difference between cyst and tumor, which can be identified by many tests, including CT, ultrasound, nuclear magnetic resonance and so on. Today, I gave you a simple science lesson here. You can leave a message below if you have any questions.

Cysts and tumors are swollen, so is there a difference between them? There are differences between the two, but there are also some connections. What is a cyst? In terms of image morphology, cysts are very different from tumors. We can understand it this way. A simple cyst is a plastic bag full of water. Different components of water can have different properties. It can be a bag of clear tap water or a bag of water mixed with some blood. There is a layer of endothelial cells on the capsule of cyst, which can continuously secrete liquid or protein substances. So the cyst can be enlarged or stabilized. For example, the most common hepatic cysts and renal cysts are found by physical examination, and most of them have no symptoms. Small ones can be left untreated, and those with symptoms can choose interventional therapy, and the effect is good. There are ovarian cysts and simple ovarian cysts, which are also full of water, but there will be certain symptoms. You can do surgical resection.

There is also a chocolate cyst, which is due to ovarian endometriosis. Menstrual bleeding, ovarian bleeding, and then wrapped up to form a cyst. Because there is new and old blood, the same color as chocolate, it is called chocolate cyst. This is also benign and can be controlled by taking medicine. Serious need for surgery. Cyst is a kind of tumor. In fact, cyst is a special form of tumor. Simple cysts are benign masses. But some are not simple cysts, but complex cysts. The cyst just mentioned is a bag of water, but some cysts not only have water, but also have some soft tissues on the cyst wall, and the cyst wall is small, which is difficult to distinguish in the image. If there are nodules on the cyst wall, it may be a tumor or a bad tumor, which is the possibility of cancer. For example, many friends ask whether liver and kidney cysts must be benign. Not all are benign, but most of them are benign. But there are few small nodules on the cyst wall. Once you see such a performance, it is very likely that the cyst has changed from benign to malignant and a defect has occurred.

There are also many tumors in the form of cysts, that is, not only water, but also other solid components. Simple cysts are not enhanced by CT or magnetic vibration, but cysts with solid components are different, and enhancement will be enhanced. Seeing such a performance on the image, we must consider the possibility of tumor. Such as cystadenoma, cystadenocarcinoma and cystic renal carcinoma. A few days ago, I saw a case, a 2 1 year-old girl, and found a tumor of 10cm in the liver, not only with cystic parts, but also with many solid soft tissues, so I didn't consider the simple cyst in the image. We must consider the tumor. And this girl is very good, a rare malignant tumor of the liver. Cysts and tumors are different, but they are also related. I really want to tell you. Whether it is a cyst or a tumor, the image is still very characteristic. Don't worry too much. If you find that the image report is a simple cyst, then don't worry too much. Simple cysts, especially hepatic and renal cysts, have no symptoms and do not need treatment. If it is a tumor, then it is necessary to find out what kind of tumor it is. Most cysts do not become malignant, so if you find liver and kidney cysts, don't worry.

Cyst is a benign mass that grows on the surface of human body or internal organs. It has a wall outside and contains liquid or other components inside. It is a cystic cavity structure and belongs to a benign lesion. Can be derived from skin or interstitial tissue. Common cysts are subcutaneous cysts, renal cysts, liver cysts, simple ovarian cysts, chocolate cysts and so on.

Tumors can occur in any organ or part of the body. Under normal circumstances, the metabolism of human cells is regulated by some genes in the body, so that the growth of these cells is maintained in a balanced state. However, if these regulatory genes mutate under the action of various carcinogens and cancer-promoting factors, it will lead to cell pathological changes and even uncontrolled abnormal proliferation and division, interfere with normal cell function and form tumors. There are benign and malignant tumors, and a few of them are between benign and malignant, which are called "borderline" tumors.

Benign tumor is simple cell proliferation, slow growth, complete and smooth appearance, like peeled litchi, almost no infiltration and metastasis ability. Such as uterine leiomyoma and subcutaneous lipoma. The growth of benign tumors is usually limited and relatively harmless, but if they grow in key parts of the body, such as the brain and large blood vessels, leading to the oppression or obstruction of important organs, they may still be life-threatening. Some benign tumors will also become malignant, and once they become malignant, their harm is as serious as that of malignant tumors.

Malignant tumor, also known as cancer, grows rapidly, invades surrounding tissues, and is easily transferred to other organs through lymph and blood, resulting in the loss of function of tissues and organs. The surface of malignant tumor is not smooth, like burr, like a tropical fruit rambutan without peeling. Malignant tumors can also be "bullying", "occupying land is king" and "running teeth" like crabs, infiltrating into all parts of the body and growing, which is a tumor that seriously endangers people's lives. Therefore, on many occasions, crabs are regarded as the image of malignant tumors, and "sword-stabbed crabs" have become a symbol of human conquest of malignant tumors.

Benign and malignant tumors must be obtained by tissue section or fine needle aspiration, and cells should be examined and differentiated by pathologists.

Most cysts are benign lesions, but some cysts belong to precancerous lesions and need to be paid attention to. For example, breast cyst and cystic hyperplasia of breast are not precancerous lesions, and if they are accompanied by "moderate and severe atypical hyperplasia", they are precancerous lesions.

Cyst and tumor are two confusing concepts. It looks similar, but there are still obvious differences.

Let's talk about cysts first. Cysts usually grow in internal organs. Hepatic cysts and renal cysts are more common, as well as ovarian cysts and chocolate cysts that are easy to occur in women. Cyst belongs to benign mass, and its contents are liquid. There are many reasons for its formation. Cysts are also divided into congenital and acquired. Congenital is generally inherited by parents, which is not harmful. Acquired has sequelae caused by inflammation. Generally speaking, cysts are benign lesions, and hospital doctors will analyze the condition and provide treatment plans. The harm is not so serious.

The other is tumor, which can be subdivided into benign and malignant. Benign tumors have not yet become cancerous, but simply grow up, but the speed is generally slow, the growth boundary is clear, and they will not spread everywhere. Generally, it can be completely removed by surgery. As long as it does not grow in key parts of the body, there is great hope of complete cure. The possibility of recurrence in the future is relatively small.

Malignant tumor is what we call cancer, and the characteristics of malignant tumor should start with the characteristics of its basic pathological unit-cancer cells. Compared with normal somatic cells, the original function and morphology of cancer cells are basically lost, and the size and morphology of their cells have changed. Cancer cells can proliferate indefinitely, grow wildly and have strong invasiveness. The change of its surface chemical characteristics can invade the surrounding normal cells and tissues, so this is also the reason why malignant tumors have the characteristics of diffusion and metastasis. In terms of treatment, the treatment of malignant tumor, that is, cancer, is very difficult and the treatment means are more complicated.

Instructor: Hu Wei, Deputy Chief Physician of Oncology Department of Jinzhou Central Hospital.

Engaged in oncology 14 years, good at early, middle and late chemotherapy, biotherapy and molecular targeted therapy for malignant tumors such as respiratory system, digestive system and blood system.

Cysts and tumors are very different:

Don't be afraid of cysts!

Cystic intrahepatic blisters:

Tumor cancer is too poisonous!

Cysts are different from tumors. Many people accidentally find cysts during physical examination. As soon as they saw the word "swelling", they unconsciously associated with "tumor" and began to be nervous, but they were actually two completely different lesions with completely different properties.

He Weifeng, an attending physician in the oncology department of the Second People's Hospital of Hunan Province, said that the so-called cyst is actually a relatively common benign disease with slow growth.

Its contents are liquid, just like blisters, which are more common in liver, kidney and ovary.

Under normal circumstances, cysts may be asymptomatic for a long time or for life. Cysts like this do not need special treatment and can be reexamined.

Only when the cyst is larger than 5 cm, or it is pressed against some adjacent duct organs, which affects organ function, it is necessary to see a doctor in time.

The treatment principle of these cysts is mainly to destroy the cyst wall, remove the cyst fluid and make them shrink and stop growing. Commonly used methods include drainage, sclerotherapy and surgical resection.

Dr. He Weifeng reminded that once cysts are found in the physical examination, don't panic first, because a few cysts in some parts have a tendency to become malignant, such as ovarian cysts.

However, if women have persistent dysmenorrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and other symptoms, they must go to the hospital in time.

Secondly, B-ultrasound or CT examination can generally distinguish benign from malignant.

Once malignant is suspected, exploratory laparotomy should be performed as soon as possible. If it is confirmed to be malignant, it is necessary to perform hysterectomy and bilateral appendectomy plus lymph node dissection.

In addition, if you find something wrong with your body, don't blindly go online to find your mother. You should seek medical treatment promptly and correctly, avoid guessing at random and increase your psychological burden, and don't delay treatment because of blind self-confidence.

(Network diagram, for reference only)

Hunan Medical Chat Question and Answer Author: Chen Zi, Department of Radiology, Second People's Hospital of Hunan Province

Hello, there must be a difference between these two. Cysts are very common, and many people are very nervous when they are found in physical examination. There was once a woman who had a cyst on her ovary. She is going to go to an irregular hospital for surgery after her next menstrual period is clean. As a result, when I went, I found that the cyst was gone, and she suspected that the color ultrasound was not accurate. In fact, a cyst is equivalent to a blister. It is a liquid wrapped in the outer membrane and will not be malignant. If the cyst is very small, it doesn't need much treatment, just check it regularly. If the cyst is large, it will affect the surrounding tissue and affect the function. For example, if the liver cyst is big, it will affect the liver function. Surgery is needed at this time. Even some cysts will subside on their own. For example, ovarian cysts may be physiological.

Tumors can be divided into benign and malignant. If a cyst is compared to a blister, a tumor is solid tissue. Benign tumors grow slowly, but will expand. Smaller tumors will not have any effect, and larger tumors need to be surgically removed. Malignant tumor is called "cancer", and its incidence is getting higher and higher, which seriously endangers people's health and is infiltrating outward. Generally, it can't be diagnosed with naked eyes, and pathological examination is needed. Under some special circumstances, benign tumors may turn into malignant tumors, but the incidence rate is low, so benign tumors should be observed regularly. If a malignant tumor is found, it should be treated immediately.

So in any case, regular inspection is very important.

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