Malignant

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008)

Look up malignant in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Malignant (from the Latin roots mal- = "bad" and -genus = "born") is a medical term used to describe a severe and progressively worsening disease. The term is most familiar as a description of cancer. A malignant tumor may be contrasted with a non-cancerous benign tumor in that a malignancy is not self-limited in its growth, is capable of invading into adjacent tissues, and may be capable of spreading to distant tissues (metastasizing), while a benign tumor has none of those properties. Malignant tumor is synonymous with cancer. Uses of "malignant" in oncology:

• Malignancy, malignant neoplasm, and malignant tumor are synonymous with cancer
• Malignant ascites
• Malignant transformation

Non-oncologic disorders referred to as "malignant":

• Malignant hypertension
• Malignant hyperthermia
• Malignant otitis externa
• Malignant tertian malaria (Malaria caused specifically by Plasmodium falciparum)
• Neuroleptic malignant syndrome