The wordbenign is often used to refer to amedical condition that will not becomelife-threatening if it is nottreated, but can also mean that something is notharmful. It is often used in relation totumours that do notmetastasise to other parts of thebody. Tumours that are referred to as being benign may still be life-threatening because of other reasons. Because of this, the term applies mainly to theirbiological behaviour.
Tumors that are benign may be at risk of changing intomalignancy. These are termed "premalignant".
