Allegheny University Hospitals Definition of Cancer Cancer has been defined in a number of different ways. The basic characteristic of cancer is the transmissable abnormailty of cells that is manifested by reduced conrol over growth and function leading to serious adverse effects on the host through invasive growth and metastases . To help you understand this medical jargon, let us take this definition and break it down into its parts. The word cancer comes from the Latin for crab, probably because of the way a cancer adheres to any part that it seizes upon in an abstinate manner like the crab. It is a popular, generic term because the actual medical term for cancer is neoplasia which, from the Greek, means new formation.
Cancers are new growths of the cells in our bodies.
Cells are the basic unit of life - each of us has trillions of them. Our cells help us carry out all functions of life - from the beating of the heart to the throwing of a football. Malignant neoplasms refers to the fact that the new growth has virulent or adverse properties that it may display in the body. Every cell in the body has the potential to form a new growth. Cells are dynamic - they are constantly in the process of making decisions about what they want to do next.