Language of Medicine- Cancer Vocabulary

Vocabulary of Ch19: Cancer Medicine (Oncology). Including procedures, pathology, and word parts

Carcinogen

agent that causes cancer

Neoplasm

new growth; benign or malignant tumor

Malignant

having characteristics of continuous growth, invasiveness, and metastatis

Benign

noncancerous growth

Mestastasize

of a malignant tumor, to spread to a secondary site

Anaplasia

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

Apoptosis

Programmed cell death

Chemical Carcinogens

Chemical agents that cause cancer (drugs, additives, etc)

Radiation

Energy carried by a stream of particles

Viruses

infectious agents that reproduce by entering a host cell and using the host’s genetic material to make copies of itself

oncogenes

regions of DNA in tumor cells or in viruses that cause cancer

Carcinoma

A cancerous tumor made up of cells of epithelial origin

Sarcoma

A cancerous tumor derived from connective/flesh tissue

Mixed Tissue Tumor

Tumor composed of different types of tissues

Cystic

Forming large open spaces filled with fluid

Fungating

mushrooming pattern of growth in which tumor cells pile on on top of another and project from a tissue surface

Inflammatory

Having the features of inflammation (redness, swelling, heat)

Medullary

large soft, fleshy tumors

Necrotic

Containing dead tissue

Polypoid

Growths that form projections extending outward from a base

Ulcerating

Characterized by an open, exposed surface resulting from the death of overlying tissue

Verrucous

Resembling a wart-like growth

Alveolar

Tumor cells form patterns resembling small sacs

Carcinoma in situ

Referring to localized tumor cells that have not invaded adjacent structures

Diffuse

Spreading evenly throughout the affected tissue

Dysplastic

Containing abnormal-appearing cells that are not clearly cancerous

Epidermoid

Resembling squamous epithelial cells

Follicular

Forming small, glandular sacs

Papillary

Forming small, finger-like/nipple-like projections of cells

pleomorphic

Composed of a variety of types of cells

Scirrhous

Densely packes tumors, due to dense bands of fibrous tissue

Undifferentiated

Tumor lacks specific features

Staging of cancerous tumors

Different descriptions for carcinomas

Grading of tumors

Evaluating the degree of maturity of tumor cells or degree of differentiation

Debulking procedure

a surgical technique used to remove as much of a tumor as possible when entirely removing it is not possible

Adjuvant

applied after initial treatment for cancer, especially to suppress secondary tumor formation.

Cauterization

Destruction of tissue by burning

Core needle biopsy

placement of a large bore needle that extracts a core of tissue

cryosurgery

use of subfreezing temperatures to destroy tissue

En block resection

Tumor is removed along with a large area of surrounding tissue containing lymph nodes

Excisional biopsy

surgical procedure that removes an entire suspicious lesion, nodule, or tumor along with a small margin of surrounding healthy tissue to provide a definitive diagnosis

Exenteration

a major, complex surgical procedure used to treat advanced or recurrent cancers by removing organs

Fine needle aspiration

Placement of a very thin needle inside the tumor mass and extracting cells for microscopic evaluation

Fulguration

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

Incisional Biopsy

Piece of tumor is removed for examination to establish a diagnosis

irradiation

Exposure to any form of radiant energy such as light, heat, or x-rays

Brachytherapy

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

Electron beams

Low-energy beams of radiation for treatment of skin or surface tumors

Fields

???

External beam irradiation

Radiation applied to a tumor from a source outside the body

Fractionation

Giving radiation in small, repeated doses

Gray

Unit of absorbed radiation dose

Linear accelerator

Large electronic device that produces high-energy x-ray beams for treatment of deep seated tumors

Photon therapy

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

Proton therapy

Protons produced by a cyclotron deposit a dose of radiaion at a tightly focused point in the body

Radiocurable tumor

Tumor that is completely destroyed by radiation therapy

Radioresistant tumor

Tumor that survives large doses of radiation

Radiosensitive tumor

Tumor in which radiation can cause the deaath of cells without serious damage to surrounding tissue

radiosensitizers

drugs that increase the sensitivity of tumors to x-rays

Simulation stereotactic radiosurgery

1-to-2-hour planning session to map the tumor and ensure precise, daily, consistent positioning using custom immobilization devices

Palliative

Relieving but not curing symptoms

Curative

Curing symptoms

Alkylating Agents

chemotherapeutic synthetic drugs that cause crosslinks and breaks in DNA to stop cells from dividing

Antibiotics

Chemotherapeutic drugs found in bacteria and fungi, which cause breaks in DNA strands to inhibit cell division

Antimetabolites

Chemotherapeutic agents that block the synthesis of DNA components and prevent cells from dividing

Biological response modifiers

therapeutic agents derived from living organisms—or synthesized to mimic them—that modify the immune system to treat diseases

Relapse

Recurrence of tumor after treatment

Remission

partial or complete disappearance of symptoms of disease

Alveol/o

small sac

cac/o

bad

carcin/o

cancer, carncerous

Cauter/o

Burn, heat

Chem/o

chemical, drug

cry/o

cold

Cyst/o

sac of fluid

fibr/o

fibers

follicul/o

small glandular sacs

fung/i

fungus, mushroom

medull/o

soft, inner part

mucos/o

mucous membrane

mut/a

genetic change

mutagen/o

causing genetic change

necr/o

death

neur/o

nerve

onc/o

tumor

papill/o

nipple-like

plas/o

formation

ple/o

many,more

polyp/o

polyp

prot/o

first

radi/o

rays

sarc/o

flesh, connective tissue

scirrh/o

hard

xer/o

dry

-blastoma

immature tumor

-genesis

formation

-oma

mass, tumor

-plasia

formation, growth

-plasm

formation, growth

-suppression

to stop