How to Pronounce Tumorigenesis

Tumorigenesis is pronounced too-mor-ih-JEN-eh-sis. The stress falls on the fourth syllable, which is JEN. If you break it down by syllables, it sounds like: too-MOR-ih-JEN-eh-sis, but remember that JEN is where you place the emphasis.

Many people stress the wrong syllable and say too-MOR-ih-jen-EE-sis (putting emphasis on the last syllable) or too-MOR-oh-jen-EE-sis. The correct way is to stress the fourth syllable: too-mor-ih-JEN-eh-sis.

Tumorigenesis divides into five syllables: tu-mor-i-gen-e-sis. When you say it out loud, it flows as: too-mor-ih-JEN-eh-sis, with a clear pause after each syllable.

Tumorigenesis comes from two parts: 'tumor' (from Latin, meaning a swelling or growth) and 'genesis' (from Greek, meaning origin or beginning). Put together, it literally means 'the origin or beginning of a tumor.'

Tumorigenesis is simply the process of how a tumor forms and grows. It describes the step-by-step development from the very first changes in a cell all the way to when a tumor becomes large enough to detect.

Words like 'carcinogenesis' (the formation of cancer) and 'mutagenesis' (the creation of mutations) share the '-genesis' root. You'll also hear 'tumor' used in words like 'tumoral' (relating to a tumor) and 'tumorlike' (resembling a tumor).

You might read: 'Scientists study tumorigenesis to understand how healthy cells become cancerous.' Or: 'The tumorigenesis process involves many different genetic changes happening over time.'

There isn't a common abbreviation for tumorigenesis itself, but it's sometimes shortened to 'tumor formation' in everyday conversation. Medical professionals still use the full term tumorigenesis when discussing the detailed science behind how tumors develop.