Blastoma (tumor/cancer) and types of blastoma

A cancerous tumor that arises from the immature cells that form the basis for an organ’s structure. The cells are undifferentiated, which means they have not yet developed a specific role within the body. Researchers believe these are embryonic cells. Blastomas grow as the type of tissue where the embryonic cells remain after organ development. Blastomas nearly always occur in childhood, though occasionally may occur in early adulthood. Most blastomas are malignant (cancerous), though osteoblastoma (blastoma of the BONE) is a benign (noncancerous) tumor. Treatment for blastoma typically combines surgery to remove the tumor with CHEMOTHERAPY, RADIATION THERAPY, or both to shrink the tumor before surgery and destroy any lingering cancer cells after surgery. The precise combination depends on the tumor’s location and size at the time of diagnosis.

See also ADENOCARCINOMA; CARCINOMA; LEUKEMIA; SARCOMA; SURGERY FOR CANCER; SURGERY BENEFIT AND RISK ASSESSMENT; WILMS’S TUMOR.

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