What is papilliary cancer?

Think sea anemonae: Those underwater creatures that have lots of fronds or feathers. Papillary just describes the anatomic shape of the cancer. Papillary tumors can ariuse in lots of places, from thyroid to ovary to rectum, even the skin. They can be benign or malignant.

Type of cell: A type of cancer that can occur in several organs, such as the thyroid, breast and kidney.

Finger-like: Papillary is a descriptive term for finger-like projections (or tree-like branches). So tumors in various organs that microscopically are composed of finger-like projections of cells are referred to as papillary cancers. Some organs that can develop papillary cancers are the kidney, ovary, and thyroid. However, despite the similar names, the tumors in these organs are different from each other.