A lipoma is a benign tumor. A small nodule is formed, which consists almost exclusively of fat cells. As long as this tumor remains benign and does not turn into a malignant tumor (liposarcoma), the nodule does not need to be removed.
Although it is a collection of fat cells, the cause of a lipoma is never obesity. Obese people suffer from a lipoma about as often as slim people. The development of a lipoma has therefore nothing to do with the nutritional status of the patient, the cause of a lipoma seems to be much more on a higher level. However, the exact cause of such a lipoma has not been clarified to date.
Hereditary cause?
In principle, a lipoma can develop at any age. It is assumed that there is a certain hereditary prevalence. This means that patients whose parents or grandparents have already had a lipoma are likely to develop a lipoma in the course of their lives.
Some patients have been diagnosed with a change on chromosome 12. However, since this change does not occur in all patients with a lipoma, it is doubtful whether this genetic change can really be considered the cause of a lipoma. However, it could be that there is a genetic shift that leads to the degeneration of fat cells.
In the course of embryonic development, i.e. the period in which the child develops in the mother’s womb, a number of change processes occur. In the process, many different cells develop from one type of stem cell, for example cells for muscle building, cells for connective tissue and cells for fatty tissue, so-called adipocytes. It is assumed that one cause leading to a lipoma is a degeneration of this cell maturation and that there is an increased change from former stem cells to fat cells in the course of life.
However, it is not yet certain whether this is due to an increase in fat cells, i.e. that the number of fat cells increases (neoplasia, i.e. new formations) or whether the existing fat cells simply become much larger. If it would be a cell increase, one would speak of hyperplasia.
This example clearly shows that there is not much knowledge about the actual cause of a lipoma. Some patients, for example, developed a lipoma after a violent fall or after a very severe contusion. This suggests that external influences, in this case a severe traumatic influence, could also be the cause of a lipoma or at least promote the development of a lipoma.
Furthermore, it is assumed that metabolic diseases also promote the development of lipomas. For example, it is assumed that a patient with diabetes mellitus is more likely to develop lipoma than a healthy patient. Hyperlipidemia, a metabolic disorder in which fats cannot be properly broken down and absorbed and therefore occur in increased amounts, also appears to promote the development of lipomas. Whether this metabolic disorder can be regarded as the cause for the development of a lipoma, however, seems questionable. Rather, there seems to be a combination of several factors as well as a certain genetic predisposition that promote the development of a lipoma.
