Differentiated

Differentiated refers to cells or tissues that have developed specialized characteristics. In the context of cancer, differentiated cells are typically more normal in appearance and less aggressive than poorly differentiated or undifferentiated cells.

Overview

In biology, differentiation is the process by which a less specialized cell becomes a more specialized cell type. Differentiation occurs numerous times during the development of a multicellular organism as the organism changes from a simple zygote to a complex system of tissues and cell types. Differentiation continues in adulthood as adult stem cells divide and create fully differentiated daughter cells during tissue repair and during normal cell turnover.

Differentiation in Cancer

In the context of cancer, the level of differentiation often refers to how much the cancer cells resemble normal cells from the same tissue type. Cancers are classified by how differentiated the cells are, which is determined by the pathologist viewing the cells under a microscope.

• Well-differentiated cancer cells look more like normal cells and tend to grow and spread more slowly than less differentiated cells.
• Moderately-differentiated cancer cells are somewhere in between.
• Poorly-differentiated or undifferentiated cancer cells look less like normal cells and tend to grow and spread more quickly.

See Also

• Cancer
• Cell biology
• Pathology

References

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