A doctor in Colorado found a surprise when removing what he thought was a benign growth from a newborn's brain. Instead of a microscopic tumor, out popped a tiny foot, partially formed hand, a thigh and another partially formed foot. "It would be a shock to even the most experienced pathologist cutting into a tumor to see this," Dr. Paul Grabb told the ABC affiliate KMGH. Grabb said he could not tell whether the miniature limbs were from a benign stem cell tumor called a teratoma or the remnants of an identical twin that did not split off and survive, a condition called fetus in fetu. "It looked like the breach delivery of a baby, coming out of the brain," Grabb told The Associated Press. "To find a perfectly formed structure is extremely unique, unusual, borderline unheard of." Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Is a teratoma just random cells that start to grow? Is this any different than cancer?
To be called cancer, there needs to be certain criteria met by the tumour. Not every tumour is considered "cancer". A teratoma, as described on wikipedia, is: Normally you wouldn't find a fully formed foot.
Metastasis is one, yes. Uncontrolled and invasive growth, which causes damage to surrounding tissues are the others, according to wikipedia. Angiogenesis occurs as well, in cancerous tissues. The growth of blood vessels allows the cancerous tumour to grow to a much larger size.
