Anal Intraepithelial Neoplasia
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Intraepithelial neoplasia (IEN) is the development of a benign
neoplasia A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...
or high-grade
dysplasia Dysplasia is any of various types of abnormal growth or development of cells (microscopic scale) or organs (macroscopic scale), and the abnormal histology or anatomical structure(s) resulting from such growth. Dysplasias on a mainly microscopic ...
in an
epithelium Epithelium or epithelial tissue is a thin, continuous, protective layer of cells with little extracellular matrix. An example is the epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin. Epithelial ( mesothelial) tissues line the outer surfaces of man ...
. The exact dividing line between dysplasia and neoplasia has been very difficult to draw throughout the era of medical science. It varies between persons. In the localizations shown below, the term ''intraepithelial neoplasia'' is used to describe more accurately what was historically referred to as
epithelial dysplasia Epithelial dysplasia, a term becoming increasingly referred to as intraepithelial neoplasia, is the sum of various disturbances of epithelium, epithelial proliferation and differentiation as seen microscopically. Individual cellular features of d ...
. IEN is not
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
, but it is associated with higher risk for developing cancer in future. It is thus sometimes a
precancerous condition A precancerous condition is a condition, tumor or lesion involving abnormal cells which are associated with an increased risk of developing into cancer. Clinically, precancerous conditions encompass a variety of abnormal tissues with an increase ...
.


Localizations


References

Lesions {{oncology-stub