Cancer and Oncology Terms

An obsolete term for a malignant tumor of lymphatic tissue.

Lynch syndrome is an inherited condition caused by a DNA repair gene mutation that raises lifetime risk of colorectal and other cancers.

An area where bone has been dissolved away, showing on an x-ray as a dark hole in an otherwise solid structure.

A single antibody churned out in bulk by one clone of cells, showing up as a narrow spike on a laboratory trace.

A monoclonal antibody that is being studied in the treatment of some types of cancer.

Treatment that is given to help keep cancer from coming back after it has disappeared following the initial therapy.

Rare enough to be overlooked, which is the main reason it tends to be found later than the same disease in women.

A condition in which fluid containing cancer cells collects in the abdomen.

A rare, fast-growing tumor of the nervous system or soft tissue that occurs in children and young adults.

A soft tissue sarcoma that usually occurs in the limbs, most commonly the legs, and may also occur in the abdomen.

A soft tissue sarcoma that usually occurs in the limbs, most commonly the legs, and may also occur in the abdomen.

A soft tissue tumor that begins in a tendon (tough, fibrous, cord-like tissue that connects muscle to bone or to another structure).

A rare, fast-growing tumor that forms in one of the inner layers of the meninges (thin layers of tissue that cover and protect the brain and spinal cord).

A rare type of cancer in which malignant cells are found in the lining of the chest or abdomen.

A type of soft tissue sarcoma that develops in cells that form a protective sheath (covering) around peripheral nerves, which are nerves that are outside of the central nervous system (brain and…

Malignant pleural effusion is fluid buildup around the lung caused by cancer cells within the pleural space, most often from lung or breast cancer.

A cancer that can sometimes be driven into retreat by treating the infection that provoked it rather than by chemotherapy.

A common condition marked by benign (not cancer) changes in breast tissue.

A system used to deliver internal radiation therapy to breast cancer patients after surgery to remove their cancer.

Mantle cell lymphoma is a B-cell lymphoma named for the lymph node zone it arises from, generally considered an aggressive subtype.