Lipomas are normally harmless, but they can cause pain if they are positioned over a nerve. Those that develop many blood vessels can also be painful, and this characteristic is most common in deeper lipomas. Rarely, the growths develop inside muscles and organs. Liposarcoma, a malignant lipoma, is a rare, fast-spreading type of cancer. If a doctor suspects a problematic lipoma, he or she will biopsy the lump and send a piece of it for testing.

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