What Are Carcinomas?

Carcinoma is a type of malignancy that begins in specific cells that form the tissue lining certain organs in the body, like the kidneys, liver, and on the skin. Cancerous cells are classified according to the kind of cell they form in because different cells throughout the body perform different functions. Five primary types of cancers can occur in an individual's body, including carcinoma, lymphoma and myeloma, spinal cord and brain cancers, leukemia, and sarcoma. Carcinoma only originates in the epithelial tissues of the body. The most prevalent type of cancer in the population is carcinoma. Different types of carcinoma are grouped by the types of epithelial cells in which they originate.