Premalignant is a term used to refer to any condition or illness that may develop into a cancerous disease if allowed to progress without undergoing medical assessment and treatment. The term is often used interchangeably with “precancerous”. Any premalignant or precancerous condition may escalate into a form of neoplastic growth that can pose serious degeneration and runs the risk of becoming life-threatening.

The term may be used to describe a lesion or abnormal growth on any region of the body that is found to serve no biological purpose. In such cases, the mutated tissue may suspiciously arise with no associated symptoms but may eventually present with debilitating consequences if not promptly resolved. Examples of such conditions include intestinal polyps, cervical dysplasia in women, actinic keratosis of the skin, and abnormal squamous cell growth in the lungs. Such conditions may not easily be detected as they can tend to occur without any associated symptoms, while some may only become discovered by accident. In any case, such abnormal growths warrant observation and assessment to distinguish whether they are benign or in fact dangerous and cancerous. In the case of actinic keratoses of the skin, chances of detection are improved as the lesions are superficial and easier to catch sight of. Conditions such as intestinal polyps and cervical dysplasia on the other hand are much more difficult to identify unless the patient undergoes regular comprehensive physical examinations.

Once identified, premalignant lesions should generally be immediately removed as these abnormal cells grow at a more rapid rate compared to typical cells, speeding up the process of the potential development of malignancies. Once removed, the lesions may undergo laboratory examination through biopsies to specifically identify the nature of the growths and provide further information on the condition. In some incidences, even premalignant lesions may have to undergo chemotherapeutic remedies or radiation therapy – which is especially undertaken if the growths are considered to be very likely to lead to cancer.