Cancer and Oncology Terms

Radiation treatment aimed directly at a tumor during surgery.

A chemotherapy drug best known for treating advanced bowel cancer, and for the severe diarrhea that can follow a dose.

The use of high-energy radiation from x-rays, gamma rays, neutrons, protons, and other sources to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors.

A substance being studied in the treatment of oral mucositis (painful mouth sores) caused by cancer therapy and other conditions.

A rare cancer that forms in the islets of Langerhans cells (a type of cell found in the pancreas).

A mass of abnormal cells that forms in the endocrine (hormone-producing) tissues of the pancreas.

A substance being studied in the treatment of cancer.

A substance being studied in the treatment of bladder cancer, lung cancer, and other types of cancer.

An abbreviation for a chemotherapy combination used to treat childhood ovarian and testicular germ cell cancers that have spread.

A staging system for prostate cancer that uses ABCD.

A substance being studied in the treatment of prostate and other types of cancer.

A rare form of childhood leukemia in which cancer cells often spread into tissues such as the skin, lung, and intestines.

A rare form of childhood leukemia in which cancer cells often spread into tissues such as the skin, lung, and intestines.

Juvenile pilocytic astrocytoma, most often diagnosed in children, forms from star shaped supportive brain cells and typically grows slowly with well defined borders.

A type of cancer that begins in plasma cells (white blood cells that produce antibodies).

A type of cancer characterized by the abnormal growth of blood vessels that develop into skin lesions or occur internally.

A drug that is used to treat certain types of muscle spasms and is being studied in the treatment of liver cancer.

This dome shaped skin growth appears within weeks and often resolves untreated, yet it can be nearly indistinguishable from squamous cell carcinoma.

Kidney cancer includes renal cell carcinoma in adults and Wilms tumor in young children, arising from different structures within the kidney.

The immune system's targeted assassin, destroying one marked cell at a time while leaving its healthy neighbors untouched.