Cancer and Oncology Terms

A daily tablet that switches off a growth signal on the cancer cell surface, working best where one specific mutation is present.

ERMS is an abbreviation for embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, the most common soft tissue cancer diagnosed in infants and young children.

Cancer of the blood-forming tissues in which large numbers of immature, abnormal red blood cells are found in the blood and bone marrow.

An abnormal patch of red and white tissue that forms on mucous membranes in the mouth and may become cancer.

An abnormal patch of red tissue that forms on mucous membranes in the mouth and may become cancer.

Lacking the outer wrapping that surrounds other digestive organs, the esophagus lets a tumor reach neighboring structures early.

A hormone receptor that works as a gene switch, so blocking it changes what a cell builds rather than merely what it senses.

A lab test to find out if cancer cells have estrogen receptors (proteins to which estrogen will bind).

A substance that comes from a type of sea squirt and is being studied in the treatment of cancer.

An injection of ethanol (alcohol) through the skin directly into a tumor to kill cancer cells.

Disease that cannot be measured directly by the size of the tumor but can be evaluated by other methods specific to a particular clinical trial.

Ewing sarcoma is an aggressive childhood and adolescent cancer of bone or soft tissue, marked by a characteristic chromosomal translocation involving the EWSR1 gene.

A surgical procedure used to remove moles, cysts, skin cancer, and other skin growths using local anesthesia.

A disease in which malignant (cancer) cells are found in the tissues of the pancreas.

Cancer has spread outside of the lung in which it began or to other parts of the body.

A type of radiation therapy that uses a machine to aim high-energy rays at the cancer from outside of the body.

A type of radiation therapy that uses a machine to aim high-energy rays at the cancer from outside of the body.

A rare cancer that forms in germ cells in the testicle or ovary, or in germ cells that have traveled to areas of the body other than the brain (such as the chest, abdomen, or tailbone).

A rare cancer that develops in germ cells that are found in areas of the body other than the ovary or testicle (such as the brain, chest, abdomen, or tailbone).

A rare cancer that forms in the part of the bile duct that is outside the liver.