Final answer:
The statement that malignant cells are poorly differentiated from their cells of origin is true. These cells have lost their ability to perform specialized functions, do not respect boundaries of growth, and can invade other tissues and metastasize.
Step-by-step explanation:
Malignant cells differ from their cells of origin primarily due to poor differentiation of cells. This statement is True. As cells become cancerous, they often lose their ability to differentiate, which means they no longer carry out the specialized functions their original cells did. Instead, they grow unchecked and may form tumors. Malignant tumors are capable of invasion and damage to nearby tissues and can also metastasize, which is the process of spreading to other parts of the body and forming new tumors. Cancer cells are also known for losing contact inhibition, which is the ability to stop dividing once they form a dense layer, and for the inability to form proper connections with neighboring cells such as gap junctions, which further contributes to their unchecked proliferation.