n. pl. car·ci·no·mas or car·ci·no·ma·ta (-mə-tə) An invasive malignant tumor derived from epithelial tissue that tends to metastasize to other areas of the body. [Latin, cancerous ulcer, from Greek karkinōma, from karkinos, cancer; see kar- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] car′ci·noma·toid (-nōmə-toid′) adj. car′ci·noma·tous (-nŏmə-təs, -nōmə-) adj. |
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