Cancer and Oncology Terms

Surgical removal of as much of a tumor as possible.

A drug that is used to treat myelodysplastic syndromes and is being studied in the treatment of other types of cancer.

The body has no way to excrete surplus iron, so anyone transfused repeatedly needs a drug to carry it out for them.

A substance being studied in the prevention of cancer.

Denys-Drash syndrome is a rare genetic disorder combining early kidney failure, abnormal sexual development, and a high risk of Wilms tumor.

A type of tumor that begins as a hard nodule and grows slowly.

A type of benign (not cancer) germ cell tumor (type of tumor that begins in the cells that give rise to sperm or eggs) that often contains several different types of tissue such as hair, muscle, and…

Because a desmoid tumor tends to grow into nearby structures locally, complete surgical removal can be difficult even though it rarely spreads elsewhere.

Causing or forming adhesions or fibrous connective tissue within a tumor.

A melanoma that breaks its own rules: colorless, scar-like, easily dismissed as harmless, and inclined to creep outward along nerves.

A rare, aggressive cancer that usually affects young males and usually is located in the abdomen.

Molecules come in left and right handed forms, and here only the working half is supplied, which is why the milligram numbers look smaller.

A substance being studied in the treatment of cancer.

DHEA is a steroid hormone made mainly by the adrenal glands that serves as a building block for testosterone and estrogen.

A diagnostic mammogram is a focused breast x-ray obtained to evaluate a specific finding, distinct from a routine screening mammogram in an asymptomatic person.

A number only means something when the next one is taken the same way, on the same machine, in the same plane.

The active ingredient in a drug that is used to treat the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and is being studied in the prevention and treatment of some types of skin cancer.

A drug that is used to treat the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and is being studied in the prevention and treatment of some types of skin cancer.

Differentiation is the process by which unspecialized cells develop into distinct, mature cell types suited to specific functions in the body.

A type of central nervous system tumor that forms from glial (supportive) tissue of the brain and spinal cord.