[Fat Bear Science] When you feel a lump, does your heart feel cold? Don't panic, a lump can be flattened

Fat Bear receives many inquiries from citizens every day.

I'm used to it

However, there are a lot of questions about "bumps" recently.

Today, it is necessary to take it out and put it on display separately.

▲"Teacher, I felt a lump on my back when I was taking a shower yesterday. Is it cancer?"

▲“There is a dark red blood vessel protrusion on the hand bar. Will it turn into cancer?”

▲ “If I have a mole on my body, will it turn into melanoma like in If You Are the One 2?

There are many questions about superficial tumors in clinical practice. Today, Pang Xiong will introduce you to superficial tumors.

There is no need to panic about this type of tumor (lump). It is basically a benign tumor with very good treatment effects and most of them can be completely cured.

Wang Shengqiang, director of the Comprehensive Department of Chongqing Cancer Hospital, said that if a superficial tumor is found, it should be taken seriously and treated early, otherwise it may turn into cancer over time; it is best to go to a regular hospital for treatment and follow the doctor's advice.

Experts of this issue

Wang Shengqiang

Wang Shengqiang: Director of the General Department of Chongqing Cancer Hospital, deputy chief physician, member of the Chongqing Emergency Committee of the Chinese Medical Association, member of the Chongqing Emergency Committee of the Committee of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, has been engaged in emergency trauma, various critical and severe diseases, and poisoning treatment for a long time, and is good at diagnosing and treating superficial tumors. Clinic hours: all day on Monday

Most superficial tumors are benign.

Superficial tumors are various lumps that grow on the surface or deep inside the human skin.

Many superficial lumps are accidentally felt, are painless, slow-growing, and difficult to detect. Superficial tumors are also divided into benign and malignant superficial tumors. Most are benign tumors and have little impact on human health.

Some superficial tumors do not need treatment at all, while others only require surgical removal. The tumor does not metastasize and is easy to remove completely during surgery, with few recurrences. However, some benign tumors grow too large and affect appearance and limb function.

If left unchecked for too long, benign conditions may turn into malignant conditions.

Some superficial tumors are benign tumors in the early stages, but after a long time they will transform into malignant tumors, causing impacts on human health.

Some superficial tumors are malignant as soon as they grow, and early treatment is more effective.

However, many patients, especially the elderly, often procrastinate, thinking that the small lump is nothing to worry about. By the time they arrive at the hospital, the lump has become too large to be treated with simple surgery, or there is infection or widespread metastasis, which makes it impossible to remove surgically.

Classification of superficial tumors

Superficial tumors are divided into benign superficial tumors and malignant superficial tumors, and the specific classification is as follows:

Benign superficial tumor

Benign superficial tumors include cystic tumors (epidermoid cysts, sebaceous cysts, dermoid cysts, tendon sheaths or synovial cysts), single and multiple lipomas, skin hemangiomas, fibromas, various moles, neurofibromas, skin tags, scars, lymphangiomas, etc. They account for the vast majority of superficial tumors.

Malignant superficial tumors

Malignant superficial tumors include malignant melanoma, skin cancer (including basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma), superficial metastatic tumors, dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, soft tissue sarcoma, etc. They only account for a minority of superficial tumors.

Differences between benign and malignant superficial tumors

Benign superficial tumors refer to superficial lumps that grow on the surface of human skin or under the skin and are easily felt. They grow in an expansive manner and relatively slowly. They do not invade adjacent normal tissues, generally do not become malignant, rarely recur, and have little impact on the body.

The surface of benign tumor lumps is covered with a capsule, which is clearly separated from the surrounding tissues. The growth has a certain degree of "self-limitation" and can be pushed by touch. It is easy to remove cleanly during surgery and will not metastasize after removal, that is, it will not spread to other parts and rarely recur.

Benign tumors do not metastasize and are considered "nail houses", so as long as the tumor itself is removed surgically, it can basically be considered cured.

Characteristics of various benign superficial tumors

Cystic tumors

The so-called cystic tumor, as the name suggests, must be covered by a pocket-like skin. Cystic tumors include many types of surface tumors, such as common sebaceous cysts, dermoid cysts, ganglion cysts, etc. These diseases are almost all benign.

Among cystic tumors, epidermoid cysts and sebaceous cysts are the most common.

Some originate from damaged hair follicle structure or epidermal tissue buried inside after trauma, while others are caused by dust blockage and bacterial infection, which leads to blockage of sebaceous gland ducts and congestion of sebaceous gland excretion.

Both types of cysts can occur anywhere on the skin but are more common on the face and back.

There are often no symptoms, but a small hole can be seen in the center of the mass, which can be squeezed to squeeze out the contents of the cyst with a bad smell. If the cyst wall ruptures or secondary infection occurs, severe pain, redness, swelling, and even abscess formation may occur.

Due to their varying depths and amounts of contents, their sizes vary greatly, ranging from as small as a grain of rice to as large as an egg, and can even grow to the size of a fist over time.

Sebaceous cysts grow very slowly, but patients can still feel them gradually increasing in size.

Lipoma

Lipoma is the most common superficial tumor, often distributed in the subcutaneous fat tissue and muscle layer. It is round or leaf-shaped, yellow in color, and a benign tumor that can occur in various parts of the body. There are congenital, simple and multiple lipomas.

Lipomas can occur at any age, but are more common in adults and more common in women than in men.

Multiple lipomas are often painful and are also called painful lipomas. Deep lipomas often grow along the muscles and can reach deep into the periosteum, but rarely invade adjacent bones.

The cause of lipoma is not yet fully understood. Western medicine believes that it is related to excessive fat intake in the diet and impaired fat metabolism. The incidence of lipoma is high among obese people, people with diabetes, and people with high blood lipids. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that it is related to excessive thinking, unhealthy diet, excessive drinking, staying up late, and high work pressure.

Lipoma develops very slowly and most of the time has no serious adverse effects on the body, and very few of them become malignant. However, when it grows bigger, it is not only unsightly, but may also compress surrounding nerves, causing other discomfort.

Hemangioma

Hemangioma is a localized, multi-cystic benign tumor caused by abnormal growth of vascular tissue during fetal development, characterized by the storage of circulating blood flow.

It is a common disease in infants and young children. The incidence rate in the neonatal period is 1.1% to 2.6%. Hemangiomas can be divided into capillary hemangiomas (accounting for 65%), mixed hemangiomas (accounting for 20%), and cavernous hemangiomas (accounting for 15%).

Most hemangiomas are not serious, but if they grow in exposed parts such as the head and face, they will show abnormal color. Some hemangiomas appear as uneven lumps. This abnormal color and mass affect the appearance, causing the patient to have a great inferiority complex and be unwilling to see people.

In addition, hemangiomas are caused by deformed and proliferating blood vessels. Some hemangiomas are prone to rupture and bleeding due to friction or stimulation from foreign objects.

mole

Moles are very common. Almost everyone has moles of varying sizes and colors on their skin.

Moles are the most common benign skin tumors in humans and are divided into many types, such as pigmented nevi, connective tissue nevi, sebaceous nevi, etc.

The "black mole" and "freckle" that people often talk about are actually "pigmented moles". They are mainly patches formed by the increase of skin or pigment cells.

There are many reasons for the occurrence of moles. One is congenital, which is present at birth and gradually grows larger as the body develops.

The other type is acquired. Most of the pigmented moles on our bodies are of this type. They usually appear gradually after school age. The number varies from person to person, and the diameter generally does not exceed 6 mm.

2 cm is used as the judgment standard. If it is smaller than 2 cm, it is a small mole, otherwise it is a large mole. Congenital large moles need to be paid special attention to, as the chance of malignant transformation is higher.

Some people believe that the occurrence of moles is related to genetic factors and environmental factors such as ultraviolet radiation.

Which moles are prone to malignant transformation?

Moles with atypical appearance may become malignant, such as very dark moles, uneven pigmentation, uneven or irregular edges, unclear boundaries, left-right asymmetry, and a diameter greater than 5 mm.

Moles located in the nail grooves and nails, extremities, oral mucosa, conjunctiva, vagina, and foreskin are more likely to become malignant melanomas than moles located in other places.

In addition, common factors such as strong ultraviolet radiation or some radiation, repeated pressure or friction, repeated trauma or chemical stimulation may induce its malignant transformation.

Text/ Fat Bear Picture/ Internet (Please contact to delete) Review/ Wang Shengqiang

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