Chapter 19 Cancer Medicine (Oncology)

Sarcoma

Cancerous tumor derived from connective or flesh tissue

Carcinoma

Cancerous tumor made up of cells of epithelial origin

Anaplasia

Loss of differentiation of cells; reversion to a more primitive cell type

Grading of tumors

Evaluating the degree of maturity of tumor cells or indication of malignant transformation; degree of differentiation

Remission

Partial or complete disappearance of symptoms of disease; absence of signs and symptoms of disease (tumor)

Benign tumor

Noncancerous growth; a neoplasm

Mitosis

Replication of cells; production of 2 identical cells from a parent cell

Apoptosis

Programmed cell death; normal cells go through this when damaged or aging

Metastasis

Spread of a malignant tumor to a secondary site; literally beyond control

Staging of tumors

System of evaluating the extent of spread of tumors; like TNM system

ana-

prefix for: Backward

meta-

prefix for: Beyond, change

brachy-

prefix for: Short (distance)

-plasia

suffix for: Growth (-plasm)

-blastoma

suffix for: Immature tumor

-oma

suffix for: Mass, tumor

carcin/o

comb form: Cancer, cancerous

necr/o

comb form: Death

onc/o

comb form: Tumor

sarc/o

comb form: Flesh, connective tissue

Exenteration

Wide resection involving removal of the tumor, its organ of origin, and all surrounding tissue in the body space

Chemotherapy

Treatment with drugs

Cryosurgery

Use of subfreezing temperature to destroy tissue

External beam irradiation

Applying radiation to a tumor from a source outside the body; like a machine

Fulguration

Destruction of tissue by electric sparks generated by a high-frequency current

Radiation therapy

fractionation is an example of this; treatment using radiation, high energy x-rays or other radiation sources

Biological therapy

Interleukins are examples of this therapy; type of medical treatment that uses substances derived from living organisms or synthetic versions of them to treat disease

Photon therapy

Radiation therapy using energy in the form of x-rays or gamma rays

Brachytherapy

Radiotherapy that uses insertion of sealed containers into body cavities or radioactive seeds directly into the tumor

Simulation

Study using CT or MRI to map treatment before RT is given; imaging done before radiation therapy to map treatment area