Tumor List

Different body tissue types give rise to different tumors, both benign and malignant. The following tables show the different kinds of tumors each of the following tissue types are vulnerable to:

Connective Tissue

Tissue Benign Tumors Malignant Tumors
Adult fibrous tissue Fibroma Fibrosarcoma
Embryonic (myxomatous) fibrous tissue Myxoma Myxosarcoma
Fat Lipoma Liposarcoma
Cartilage Chondroma Chondrosarcoma
Bone Osteoma Osteosarcoma
Notochord Chordoma
Connective tissue, probably fibrous Fibrous histiocytoma Malignant fibrous histiocytoma

Endothelium and Mesothelium

Tissue Benign Tumors Malignant Tumors
Blood vessels Hemangioma, hemangiopericytoma Hemangiosarcoma, angiosarcoma
Lymph vessels Lymphangioma Lymphangiosarcoma
Mesothelium Mesothelioma

Blood and Lymphoid Cells

Tissue Benign Tumors Malignant Tumors
Hematopoietic cells "Preleukemias", "myeloproliferative disorders" Leukemia, of various types; aleukemic leukemia
Lymphoid tissue Plasmacytosis Plasmacytoma; multiple myeloma; Hodgkin lymphoma and Non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Muscle

Tissue Benign Tumors Malignant Tumors
Smooth muscle Leiomyoma Leiomyosarcoma
Striated muscle Rhabdomyoma Rhabdomyosarcoma

Epithelial Tissues

Tissue Benign Tumors Malignant Tumors
Stratified squamous Papilloma
Seborrheic keratosis and some skin adnexal tumors
Squamous cell carcinoma; epidermoid carcinoma and some malignant skin adnexal tumors

Glandular epithelium

  1. Liver
  2. Kidney
  3. Bile duct

Adenoma

Hepatic adenoma
Renal tubular adenoma
Bile duct adenoma

Adenocarcinoma

Hepatoma: hepatocellular carcinoma
Renal cell carcinoma; hypernephroma
Cholangiocarcinoma

Transitional epithelium Transitional cell papilloma Transitional cell carcinoma
Placenta Hydatidiform mole Choriocarcinoma
Testis Seminoma; embryonal cell carcinoma

Neural

Tissue Benign Tumors Malignant Tumors
Glial cells (of several types) Glioma, grades I-III, anaplastic; glioblastoma multiforme (grade IV)
Nerve cells



Ganglioneuroma

Neuroblastoma
Medulloblastoma

Meninges Meningioma Malignant meningioma
Nerve sheath Schwannoma, neurilemmoma
Neurofibroma
Malignant meningioma
Malignant schwannoma
Neurofibrosarcoma

APUD System (APUD - Amine Precursor Uptake and Decarboxylation)

The APUD system is a recently defined series of cells which have endocrine functions in that they secrete one of a variety of small amine or polypeptide hormones. The stored forms of these hormones located in the cytoplasm are small, dense-core membrane-bound granules visible by electron microscopy. Some of these cells appear to be derived from neural crest cells which migrate into a variety of organs. APUD system tissues give rise to the benign and malignant tumors outlined in Table G.

Tissue Benign Tumors Malignant Tumors
Pituitary Basophilic adenoma
Eosinophilic adenoma
Chromophobe adenoma


Parathyroid Parathyroid adenoma Parathyroid carcinoma
Thyroid (C cells) C cell hyperplasia Medullary carcinoma of thyroid
Bronchial lining
(Kultschitzky cells)
Bronchial carcinooid; oat cell carcinoma
Adrenalmedulla
Pheochromocytoma
Pheochromocytoma Malignant
Pheochromocytoma
Pancreas Islet celladenoma;
Insulinoma; gastrinoma
Islet cell carcinoma
Stomach and intestines Carcinoid Malignant carcinoid
Carotid body and chemo-receptor system Chemodectoma; paraganglioma Malignantcarcinoid
Malignant paraganglioma

Other Neural Crest-Derived Cells

Tissue Benign Tumors Malignant Tumors
Pigment-producing cells in skin, eyes, and occasional other sites Nevus Melanoma
Schwann cells of peripheral nervous system Schwannoma, or neurilemmoma Malignant schwannoma
Merkel cells in squamous epithelium (unknown function) Merkel cell neoplasm (similar to oat cell)

Tumors

Tissue Benign Tumors Malignant Tumors
Breast Fibroadenoma Cystosarcoma phylloides
Renal anlage Wilms tumor

Gonadal Tumors

Terminology for Gonadal tumors or tumors of the ovary and testis is somewhat more confusing. One general class of tumors arises from multi-potential cells that give rise to tumors containing a variety of tissue types, often within the same tumor. These "germ cell" tumors include seminoma (dysgerminoma in women), choriocarcinoma, embryonal carcinoma, endodermal sinus tumor, and teratocarcinoma. Although all of these tumors are most common in the ovaries or testes, they also occur in extragonadal sites.

Another group of Gonadal tumors arises from the connective tissue stroma. In males, these include Sertoli-Leydig cell tumors (homologous tumors in females may be arrhenoblastoma, although most pathologists use "Sertoli-Leydig cell"), and in females, granulose-theca cell tumors, hilar cell tumors, and lipid cell tumors. Although all of these tumors technically arise from the connective tissues, they are given separate names because of the specialized nature and function of the Gonadal stromal cells.

A number of epithelial tumors occur in the ovary. It will be easy to distinguish benign from malignant tumors because they are named in exactly the same way as other epithelial lesions. However, in some lesions, the pathologist may call a tumor "borderline" or "of low malignant potential." These terms are applied to a group of potentially malignant lesions that metastasize much less frequently than the carcinomas.