Cancer and Tumor Terms

A growth of the antibody factories of the immune system, ranging from a harmless clone to widespread disease in the bones.

A single collection of abnormal antibody-making cells, which may stay solitary or prove to be the first sign of myeloma.

Named for the shape of a cell rather than its lineage, so the abbreviation has always covered two separate diseases at once.

A cancer vaccine consisting of whole irradiated heterologous melanoma cells which express multiple melanoma-related antigens.

A disease in which malignant (cancer) cells are found in the part of the urethra (the tube through which urine leaves the body) that connects to the bladder (the organ that stores urine).

A type of cancer that forms in bone or soft tissue.

Growths on an internal lining that are not cancer, removed because a fraction of them would eventually have become cancer.

An aggressive (fast-growing) type of leukemia (blood cancer) in which too many B-cell lymphoblasts (immature white blood cells) are found in the bone marrow and blood.

An aggressive (fast-growing) type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in which too many lymphoblasts (immature white blood cells) are found in the lymph nodes and the thymus gland.

An aggressive (fast-growing) type of leukemia (blood cancer) in which too many T-cell lymphoblasts (immature white blood cells) are found in the bone marrow and blood.

A type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in which too many T-cell lymphoblasts (immature white blood cells) are found in the lymph nodes and spleen.

Cancer that forms in the lymph tissue of the brain, spinal cord, meninges (outer covering of the brain), or eye (called ocular lymphoma).

A rare, aggressive (fast-growing) type of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma marked by an abnormal build-up of fluids in a body cavity.

One of a group of cancers that develop from the same type of early cells, and share certain biochemical and genetic features.

Cancer that is growing, spreading, or getting worse.

A type of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), in which too many immature white blood cells (prolymphocytes) are found in the blood and bone marrow.

An aggressive (fast-growing) type of acute myeloid leukemia in which there are too many immature blood-forming cells in the blood and bone marrow.

The hard part is not finding it but judging which ones need treating, since many would never have caused harm.

A cancer vaccine containing plasmid DNA encoding human prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) (pTVG-HP) with potential immunostimulatory and antineoplastic activities.

A type of lung cancer that begins in the upper part of a lung and spreads to nearby tissues such as the ribs and vertebrae.