Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Malignant
Introduction
Overview
Overview
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. 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
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]