Oncologist: Who is it? What does he do? When to contact him?

, the medical branch that deals with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cancer.

Shutterstock Oncologist with Patient

The oncologist possesses numerous skills and carries out various tasks; for example, he knows precisely the physiopathology of tumors; he is an expert in diagnostic techniques useful for the identification and study of tumors; deals with planning the most appropriate anticancer therapy; knows how to intervene in case of tumor relapses; he is a profound connoisseur of the compartments that prevent tumors; etc.
The modern oncologist can specialize in various sectors: he can become an expert in chemotherapy (medical oncologist), anticancer surgery (surgical oncologist) and oncological radiotherapy (radiotherapy oncologist).

abnormal, indicated with the "transformed cells" expression, whose rate of division and growth is, due to a loss of control mechanisms, higher than the parameters considered normal.
Put simply, a tumor is a mass of cells that grow out of control.
The onset of a tumor is the result of a series of cellular DNA mutations, which alter the genes responsible for controlling the processes of cell division, growth, maturation and death.

A tumor is called benign, when the abnormal cells of the mass that constitute it have a moderately higher than normal rate of division and growth, lack the ability to invade adjacent tissues and, finally, are unable to reach the bloodstream.
In other words, a benign tumor is a mass of cells that behave abnormally, by division and growth, but which are not invasive to the surrounding tissues and not even infiltrating the blood.

A tumor is said to be malignant, when the abnormal cells of the mass that constitute it present a rate of division and growth clearly higher than normal and are capable of attacking the surrounding tissues and spreading to the rest of the organism, after their passage into the blood (metastasis ).
In other words, a malignant tumor is a mass of cells with extremely abnormal behavior, which, precisely by virtue of the behavior of its cells, is invasive for adjacent tissues and infiltrating the blood.

Com "can also be deduced from the descriptions just reported, malignant tumors are decidedly more dangerous conditions than benign tumors, which, however, still deserve due attention, as they could evolve into malignant formations.

Responsible for the deaths of 7.4 million people worldwide, malignant tumors represent the leading cause of death worldwide (13% of world deaths are attributable to them).
Among the malignant tumors that claim the most victims, there are: lung cancer, stomach cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer (or colorectal cancer) and liver cancer.

The word "tumor" has a synonym: neoplasm.

Malignant type tumor is also known as: malignant neoplasm and cancer.