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Adenoma - Adenoma symptom, treatment, causes
Adenoma is a benign tumour caused by localised overgrowth of the cells of any gland. Adenomas vary in size from microscopic to larger than a football.
Symptoms of Adenoma may be the development of an obvious lump, or result from the tumour pressing on nearby organs and tissues, or producing more than the usuall amount of secretion from the gland (an Adenoma of the the pituitary gland, for example, may cause abnormal secretion of milk from the breasts).
An adenoma is a collection of growths of glandular origin. Adenomas in the colon are often referred to as adenomatous polyps. It sits in a crevice called the sella turcica at the base of the skull. Adenomas can arise from most of the gland cells in the body. The bigger the adenoma, the greater its chances of being cancerous. A major difference between malignant tumors and adenomas is that adenomas do not metastasize or spread to other organs or tissues. These tumors are of widely variable malignant potential, although most of them are low-grade malignancies, growing and spreading much more slowly than true lung cancer. When the body does not need new cells and cell division continues, a mass or tumor is formed. There are three types of adenomas: tubular, tubulovillous, and villous.
Villous adenomas are the least common and have sort of a ruffled, frilly structure. Pituitary tumors can also be divided into functioning and non-functioning tumors. Adenomas are also associated with Cushing's syndrome , a disorder caused by excess levels of a hormone secreted by the adrenal glands.
Adenomas that cause symptoms are usually remove surgically, and tissue from the tumour is always examined under a microscope to make sure that it is not cancerous (this may be recommended even if the Adenoma causes no symptoms). If the tumour proves to be malignant it is called an adenocarcinoma.
Types of Adenoma
- tubular adenoma
- adrenal adenoma
- thyroid adenoma
- pleomorphic adenoma
- parathyroid adenoma
- fibroid adenoma
- villous adenoma
- tubulovillous adenoma
- fibro adenoma
- hepatic adenoma
- follicular adenoma
- pituitary adenoma
- colon adenoma
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