Cancer and Oncology Terms

An anti-sickness injection that holds onto its receptor far longer than the older drugs in the same class.

Alpha-lipoic acid is a naturally occurring compound that helps cells convert nutrients into energy and also functions as an antioxidant.

Alprostadil, also known as prostaglandin E1, is used to treat erectile dysfunction and to keep a critical fetal blood vessel open in newborns.

A cancer vaccine made with a form of the canarypox virus that does not cause disease in people.

Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma is a muscle related soft tissue cancer that tends to affect older children and adolescents and behaves more aggressively than the embryonal subtype.

A soft tissue tumor that is most common in older children and teenagers.

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

A drug used before autologous stem cell transplantation in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma or multiple myeloma.

Amelanotic melanoma is a form of skin cancer that lacks the dark pigment typical of melanoma, often appearing pink or red instead.

A drug used to treat some types of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and severe skin conditions, such as psoriasis.

A drug that is used to treat certain skin conditions and is being studied in the treatment of cutaneous (skin-related) T-cell cancer and T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

A substance being studied in the treatment of cancer.

A type of monoclonal antibody being studied in the treatment of multiple myeloma (a cancer that forms in bones) and in the prevention and treatment of bone metastases (cancer that has spread to bone…

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

A drug used as a chemoprotective drug to control some of the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

A colorless building block that tumor cells convert into a red-glowing pigment, used both to reveal tissue and to destroy it.

A drug used to treat actinic keratosis (a skin condition that may become cancer).

A substance that is being studied in the treatment of cancer.

Cancer that forms in the ampulla of Vater (an enlargement of the ducts from the liver and pancreas where they join and enter the small intestine).

It sits at a narrow bottleneck, blocks bile early, and is often found while small, which is why it fares better than its neighbors.