Neoplasia is a disease process that results in over 100 different malignant diseases that share a common biology and natural history. Any cell in the body that can undergo mitosis or cell division can be affected.
Cancer has links to other disease processes.
Despite popular opinion, however, it is unlikely that local trauma is a cause of cancer. As a fundamental disorder of cellular growth and differentiation or development, cancer is essentially a genetic disorder at the cellular level. Most tumors are encapsulated and benign in behavior. Occasionally they may create symptoms from cosmetic or mass effects. In using the generic word cancer , however, we are concerned here with malignant tumors that are morphologically abnormal under the microscope.