Is a lipoma a tumor?

A tumor is a growth.  So yes, a lipoma is a tumor.  Not all tumors are cancer.  A lipoma is a growth of fat.  They are extremely rarely cancerous, way less than 1%.  Lipomas are like moles of fat cells.

Technically a lipoma is a tumor - but not all tumors are cancer. There are certain types of cancerous tumors that appear to be lipomas but these are very rare. I know of no instances where cancer has caused lipomas. If lipomas are growing or changing, it is probably a good idea to at least have them biopsied,... more

Lipomas, by definition, are benign masses that are composed of fat cells.  They are characterized as tumors because they are composed of proliferative fat cells that are of the same genetic composition.  There are other types of fatty tumors that are cancerous but they differ significantly from... more

Hello, If you are right and the masses you have are lipomas, then they are benign and if left alone should grow slowly over time. The possibility exists that they are not lipomas. Some people have masses like this removed just to stop any damage they might cause as they grow and the prove they are only lipomas... more

Tumors are any growth. They can be benign or malignant. By definition a lipoma ia a benign tumor of fat cells. The malignant counterpart of a lipoma is the liposarcoma.  I am not sure what you mean by " can a cancer cause lipomas". There is some question among pathologist who specialize in soft... more

There are two general types of tumors: benign and malignant. Benign tumors are non-cancerous. Malignant tumors are cancerous. All malignant tumors need to be evaluated and treated, in some fashion. Most benign tumors are usually removed simply because of the concern that they may be or become malignant.