Neoplasms can grow anywhere in a person's body, visible or hidden, affecting that person's health and bodily functions in a variety of ways. The exact location and size of the growth of the neoplasm determines what symptoms a person suffers from. Common symptoms of neoplasia include visible growths, pain, and flu-like symptoms. Some growths cause no symptoms and are only found during regular physical checkups.
General symptoms of neoplasia can be confused with a viral infection, such as the flu. The growth can trigger an immune system response, causing the body to react with symptoms such as fever, fatigue, and chills. Patients may also experience unexplained weight loss, night sweats, or general pain and discomfort. Neoplasms that grow in specific organs can interfere with organ functions, such as lung neoplasms that regularly cause coughing or shortness of breath.
Skin neoplasms involve their own set of symptoms, depending on the type of neoplasm the person has developed. Basal cell carcinoma manifests as a smooth, raised patch of skin, which did not exist before. The skin often cracks, causing bleeding. Squamous cell carcinoma develops on skin that has been exposed to the sun, and the skin thickens and becomes red and scaly. Melanoma shows up on the skin as brown, black, pink, or red sores, or a mole that appears suddenly or begins to grow.
Symptoms of brain neoplasia manifest in unique ways, which change depending on the size of the growth and its exact location in the brain. Patients commonly suffer from systemic symptoms such as unexplained vomiting, chronic headaches, and insomnia. A person may also have one pupil that is constantly dilated more than the other, indicating growth on the same side of the brain. More serious symptoms of brain neoplasia include sudden personality changes, memory loss, and sudden paralysis on one side of the body. With children, a neoplasm can cause the skull to expand in size as growth also increases.
Symptoms of neoplasia do not necessarily indicate that the growth is benign or malignant. A doctor must take a biopsy or a sample of the growth to determine if it is cancerous or not. Obtaining a biopsy may be a simple hospital procedure if the growth is in an easily accessible area of the body, or it may involve surgery if the growth is in an internal organ.