Hyperplasia - Difference From Neoplasia

Difference From Neoplasia

Hyperplasia is considered to be a physiological (normal) response to a specific stimulus, and the cells of a hyperplastic growth remain subject to normal regulatory control mechanisms. This stands in contrast to neoplasia (the process underlying cancer and benign tumors), in which genetically abnormal cells proliferate in a non-physiological manner which is unresponsive to normal stimuli.

As seen in examples below, such physiological proliferation of cells may in fact be secondarily due to a pathological cause. Still, the proliferation itself is a normal response to another abnormal condition, in contrast to neoplasia, where the proliferation in itself is abnormal.