Differentiation
How closely cancer cells resemble normal, mature cells of the tissue they came from.
Definition
Differentiation describes how mature and specialised cancer cells look under the microscope, compared with the normal cells of the tissue they came from. Well-differentiated cancers look almost normal and tend to grow and spread slowly; poorly differentiated or undifferentiated cancers look very abnormal and usually behave more aggressively.
The pathologist combines differentiation with other microscopic features to assign the tumour grade, which together with the stage guides treatment decisions and helps estimate prognosis.
See also
- Grade — A score from the pathologist describing how abnormal the cancer cells look under the microscope.
- Histology — The microscopic study of tissue to identify cancer type and features.
- Prognosis — A doctor's best estimate of how a cancer is likely to behave and respond to treatment.
- Staging — The process of finding out how large a cancer is and whether it has spread.
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Medically reviewed by
Dr. Rehan Abdullah
Dr. Rehan Abdullah is a dual-trained clinical and radiation oncologist with over a decade of experience treating both solid tumours and hematologic malignancies. He serves as Consultant Oncologist at INMOL Hospital and sees patients at Farooq Hospital and Healthnox Medical Center, Lahore. Read full profile →
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