If you have been diagnosed with a tumor, the first step your doctor will take is to find out whether it is malignant or benign, as this will affect your treatment plan. In short, the meaning of malignant is cancerous and the meaning of benign is non-cancerous. Learn more about how either diagnosis affects your health.

A tumor is an abnormal lump or growth of cells. When the cells in the tumor are normal, it is benign. Something just went wrong, and they overgrew and produced a lump. When the cells are abnormal and can grow uncontrollably, they are cancerous cells, and the tumor is malignant.

To determine whether a tumor is benign or cancerous, a doctor can take a sample of the cells with a biopsy procedure. Then the biopsy is analyzed under a microscope by a pathologist, a doctor specializing in laboratory science.If the cells are not cancerous, the tumor is benign. It won't invade nearby tissues or spread to other areas of the body (metastasize). A benign tumor is less worrisome unless it is pressing on nearby tissues, nerves, or blood vessels and causing damage.1

Fibroids in the uterus or lipomas are examples of benign tumors.