D2.1.17 (HL)—Tumour differences
Benign tumours remain local, while malignant tumours invade tissues and can metastasize to form secondary tumours elsewhere in the body.
- Syllabus
- First assessment 2025
- Objective
- D2.1.17
- Level
- HL
Exam analysis
Chance of appearing2%of analysed past papers
Latest appearanceNovember 2024
Most common paperPaper1
Typical marks1
Common command terms
- Suggest
Scoring notes
- Common mistake
- Assuming every tumour is malignant or metastatic.
Recent exam appearances
November 2024Paper1 ["HL"] · TZ05[ 1 ]D2.1.17 (HL)—Tumour differences
November 2020Paper1 ["HL"] · TZ04[ 1 ]D2.1.17 (HL)—Tumour differences
Practice this objective
Coverage 2020–2024 · Updated 16 Jul 2026
Concept essentials
- Benign tumours grow locally and do not invade distant tissues.
- Malignant tumours can invade surrounding tissue.
- Metastasis spreads cancer cells to form secondary tumours.
- Secondary tumours still require cell division after cancer cells spread.