A chest tumor is an abnormal growth of cells found in the chest that may interfere with proper breathing and sometimes lead to cancer. A breast tumor 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 without being detected. Some noncancerous breast 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 tumor starts in the bone and muscle of the chest, and a secondary chest tumor starts in other parts of the body and spreads to the chest. Most chest tumors affect the chest wall, which is why most people refer to them as chest wall tumors.
There are no clear causes of chest wall tumors, but some experts believe they are inherited. Certain diet and lifestyle choices can also cause chest wall tumors. The main symptom of a chest wall tumor is swelling or bulging of the chest. Chest pain is also experienced by a patient but the pain is felt when the tumor is at an advanced stage.
A chest wall tumor is initially diagnosed by X-ray. An x-ray simply shows the tumor but does not indicate where it came from or whether it is cancerous or not. If an X-ray shows a tumor, a computed tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used to show the size of the tumor, where it came from, and whether or not it can cause cancer.
When all the information about the tumor is received, a biopsy is used to confirm it. A biopsy is a test that involves removing cellular tissue from a tumor and examining it under a microscope and chemically analyzing it in a laboratory. Tumor tissue is removed with a needle in a procedure called a needle biopsy. If it is not possible to remove the tissue by needle biopsy, the patient may undergo 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 removed by surgery. If the tumor is cancerous, it may be treated with chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or surgery, or a combination of any of the three. The best mode of treatment is decided by medical experts who are in a chest tumor clinic.