Cancer and Tumor Terms

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.

Anal cancer forms in tissue of the anus and is distinct from the more common rectal cancer, which affects the adjoining bowel segment.

An aggressive (fast-growing) type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that is usually of the T-cell type.

A rare, aggressive type of thyroid cancer in which the malignant (cancer) cells look very different from normal thyroid cells.

An aggressive (fast-growing) type of T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma marked by enlarged lymph nodes and hypergammaglobulinemia (increased antibodies in the blood).

A harmless-sounding kidney growth of fat, muscle and tangled vessels whose real danger is not spread but sudden heavy bleeding.

Angiosarcoma is a rare cancer arising from cells lining blood or lymph vessels, sometimes linked to chronic lymphedema or specific chemical exposures.

A disease in which malignant (cancer) cells are found in the part of the urethra (the tube through which urine leaves the body) that is closest to the outside of the body.

The name points at a microscope pattern, not at the lungs: cell clusters walled off by fibrous bands.

An aggressive cancer of the central nervous system, kidney, or liver that occurs in very young children.

A cancer cell from an individual's own tumor.

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 leukemia (blood cancer) in which too many B-cell lymphoblasts (immature white blood cells) are found in the bone marrow and blood.

B-cell lymphoma is a cancer of infection-fighting B cells that ranges from slow-growing to fast-growing, with outlook depending on the specific subtype.

Basal cell cancer is the most common skin cancer, growing slowly on sun exposed skin and rarely spreading to distant parts of the body.

Common, local and slow: this skin cancer damages the tissue around it far more often than it travels anywhere else.

A rare type of kidney cancer that grows and spreads quickly.

A benign tumor is a growth that does not invade nearby tissue or spread elsewhere, though its location can still make it clinically significant.

An abnormal mass that grows in the beta cells of the pancreas that make insulin.