Cancer and Oncology Terms

A serious problem that may occur in leukemia.

A serious problem that may occur in cancer in which cancer cells spread from the original (primary) tumor to the meninges (thin layers of tissue that cover and protect the brain and spinal cord).

A type of slow-growing tumor that forms in the meninges (thin layers of tissue that cover and protect the brain and spinal cord).

A drug being studied in the treatment of young adults with bone cancer that has gotten worse or come back.

A rare type of cancer that forms on or just beneath the skin, usually in parts of the body that have been exposed to the sun.

Merkel cell carcinoma is a rare, aggressive skin cancer linked to sun exposure and immune suppression, arising from neuroendocrine skin cells.

A rare type of tumor, usually of the female genital tract, in which the insides of the cells look clear when viewed under a microscope.

A surface protein the cells that make it barely seem to need, which is precisely what makes it a usable target on tumors.

A cancer of the mesothelium, the thin lining around the lungs, abdomen or heart, strongly associated with past asbestos exposure.

A general term used to describe cancer that begins in cells that have changed into another cell type (for example, a squamous cell of the esophagus changing to resemble a cell of the stomach).

Surgery to remove one or more metastases (tumors formed from cells that have spread from the primary tumor).

A tumor found in the liver may still be breast cancer, because spreading cells keep the identity of where they began.

A substance being studied in the treatment of cancer.

A substance being studied in the treatment of anemia in patients who are receiving chemotherapy.

A drug used in photodynamic therapy; it is absorbed by tumor cells and, when exposed to light, becomes active and kills the cancer cells.

The drug arrives inactive and becomes a poison only inside organisms that live without oxygen, which is the source of its narrow aim.

A substance being studied in the treatment of cancer.

A substance being studied in the treatment of several types of cancer.

Small numbers of cancer cells that have spread from the primary tumor to other parts of the body and are too few to be picked up in a screening or diagnostic test.

A change that occurs in the DNA of certain cells (such as tumor cells) in which the number of repeats of microsatellites (short, repeated sequences of DNA) is different than the number of repeats…