Cancer and Tumor Terms

A cancer vaccine containing xenogenic DNA from rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) that encodes prostate specific antigen (PSA) with potential immunostimulating and antineoplastic activities.

Rectal cancer forms in the final segment of the large intestine nearest the anus and is often evaluated and treated somewhat differently from colon cancer.

Recurrence describes cancer returning after treatment, either near the original tumor site or in another part of the body.

Cancer that has recurred (come back), usually after a period of time during which the cancer could not be detected.

Cancer that does not respond to treatment.

Refers to cancer that has grown beyond the original (primary) tumor to nearby lymph nodes or organs and tissues.

The most common type of kidney cancer.

Renal cell carcinoma is the most common form of kidney cancer in adults, arising from the tubules that filter blood within the kidney.

Cancer cells that remain after attempts to remove the cancer have been made.

Cancer that does not respond to treatment.

A childhood eye cancer usually noticed as a white glow in the pupil, and the tumor that revealed how cancer genes work.

A cancer vaccine made with a form of a chicken virus that does not cause disease in humans.

A malignant tumor of either the central nervous system (CNS) or the kidney.

Rhabdomyosarcoma is a cancer of striated muscle tissue that can occur anywhere in the body but is most common in children.

A slow leukemia that has been quiet for years turning abruptly into an aggressive lymphoma, usually announced by one rapidly swelling node.

A cancer vaccine made with a form of a vaccinia virus that does not cause disease in humans.

An uncommon head and neck cancer whose behavior depends far more on the microscope findings than on its size.

Sarcoma is a relatively uncommon cancer arising from connective tissues such as bone, cartilage, fat, or muscle rather than from organ linings.

A type of cancer that begins in the skin or in tissues that line or cover internal organs and that contains long spindle-shaped cells.

A type of skin cancer on or under the skin that has spread from the primary tumor through the lymph system and is not more than 2 centimeters away from the original tumor.