General and Descriptive Terms
- Tumor: A mass of abnormal tissue, which can be either benign or malignant.
- Malignant: A cancerous tumor that can invade nearby tissues or spread to other parts of the body.
- Benign: A non-cancerous tumor that does not spread to other parts of the body.
- Neoplasm: The medical term for a new and abnormal growth of tissue.
- In situ: A tumor that has not spread beyond its original location.
- Metastasis: The spread of cancer cells from the primary tumor to a new part of the body.
Types of Cancer
- Carcinoma: Cancer that begins in the skin or tissues lining internal organs.
- Sarcoma: Cancer that begins in bone, cartilage, fat, muscle or connective tissues.
- Leukemia: Cancer of blood-forming tissues such as bone marrow.
- Lymphoma: Cancer that begins in immune system cells.
Diagnosis and Staging Terms
- Biopsy: Removal of a small amount of tissue for examination.
- Staging: A way to describe cancer, including location and spread.
- TNM system: Staging system assessing Tumor size, Node involvement and Metastasis.
- Prognosis: Prediction of the likely outcome of a disease.
- Screening: Testing for cancer in people who do not have symptoms.
Treatment Terms
- Chemotherapy: Treatment using drugs to kill cancer cells.
- Radiotherapy: Treatment using radiation to kill cancer cells.
- Immunotherapy: Treatment using the body's immune system to fight cancer.
- Curative treatment: Treatment aimed at completely destroying cancer.
- Palliative care: Care focused on relieving symptoms and improving quality of life.
Terms Related to Cancer Types
- Tumor: Any abnormal swelling, lump or mass.
- Neoplasm: Medical term for cancer meaning "new growth".
- Benign neoplasm: Tumor not likely to spread and contained in one region.
- Invasive or metastatic tumor: Tumor spread from one area to another.
- Non-invasive tumor: Tumor that has not yet spread but can become aggressive.
- Atypia, dysplasia and carcinoma in situ: Non-invasive tumors where cells appear abnormal under microscope.
- Carcinoma: Cancer arising from epithelial or skin cells.
- Sarcoma: Cancer starting in connective tissues such as bone, cartilage and muscle.
- Leukemia: Blood cancer arising from bone marrow tissues producing abnormal blood cells.
- Lymphoma and myeloma: Cancers originating from immune system cells.
Terms Related to Diagnosis and Pathology
- Screening: Tests performed among healthy individuals to detect cancer early (e.g., mammogram).
- Biopsy: Small sample of abnormal tissue removed and examined under microscope.
- Tumor grade: Degree of resemblance of tumor cells to normal tissue.
- Cancer staging: Number from 0–4 describing aggressiveness of tumor.
- Tumor transformation: Advancement of low-grade tumor to high-grade tumor.
- Aggression: Likelihood of cancer spreading to other organs.
- Oncologist: Medical specialist dealing with cancer and treatment.
- Onco-pathologist: Scientist assisting in cancer diagnosis and detection.
Terms Related to Treatment of Cancer
- Remission: No sign of cancer after therapy but patient is monitored for relapse.
- Cure: 95% of treated patients alive after a specific time period.
- Recurrence: Cancer returns after surgery or treatment.
- Median survival time: Time period where at least 50% of patients survive.
- Overall survival: Statistical measure of maximum survivability.
- Prognosis: Probable outcome of cancer often measured with Kaplan-Meier curves.
Other Treatment Related Terms
- Protocol: Chemotherapy regimen prescribed.
- Chemotherapy: Treatment using anti-cancer drugs.
- Treatment cycle: Repeated schedule of chemotherapy drugs.
- Radiation therapy: High-energy radiation used to destroy cancer cells.
- Adjuvant therapy: Additional therapy given after surgery.
- Neo-adjuvant therapy: Therapy given before surgery.
- Palliative therapy: Treatment aimed at symptom relief in advanced cancer.
