A chest tumor can be benign or malignant and can interfere with breathing. It can be primary or secondary and is diagnosed through X-rays, CT scans, and biopsies. Treatment depends on the type and size of the tumor.
A chest tumor is an abnormal growth of cells in the chest that could interfere with proper breathing and sometimes cause cancer. A tumor in the chest can be malignant, meaning it causes cancer, or it can be benign or noncancerous. Many noncancerous chest tumors have no symptoms and can exist in the chest undetected. Some noncancerous chest tumors can grow large enough to press on the lung and interfere with proper breathing.
A chest tumor can also be characterized as primary or secondary. A primary chest cancer starts in the bone and muscles of the chest, and a secondary chest cancer starts in other parts of the body and spreads to the chest. Most chest cancers affect the walls of the chest and hence most people refer to them as chest wall cancers.
There are no clear causes of chest wall tumors, but some experts believe they are hereditary. Certain diet and lifestyle choices can also cause chest wall tumors. The main symptom of a chest wall tumor is a swelling or protrusion of the chest. Chest pain is also felt by a patient, but the pain is felt when the cancer is in an advanced stage.
A chest wall tumor is initially diagnosed by an X-ray. An x-ray simply shows the tumor but does not indicate where it came from or whether or not it is cancerous. If an X-ray shows a tumor, a computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan is used to tell how large the tumor is, where it has come from, and whether or not it may cause cancer.
When all information about the tumor is received, a biopsy is used to confirm it. A biopsy is a test that involves removing cell tissue from a tumor, examining it under a microscope, and doing it for chemical analysis in the laboratory. Tumor tissue is removed using a needle in a procedure called a needle biopsy. If the tissue cannot be removed via a needle biopsy, the patient may have a surgical procedure to remove the tissue, a procedure called a surgical biopsy.
Treatment of a chest wall tumor is usually determined by the type and size of the tumor. A noncancerous chest wall tumor can be surgically removed. If the tumor is cancerous, it may be treated with chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery, or a combination of any of the three. The best treatment modality is decided by medical experts found in a chest cancer clinic.
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