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For Patient - Nomenclature Cancer Diagnosis and Management |
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Cancer |
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CANCER : Nomenclature |
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Abnormal growth description (cancer): |
| Tumour: |
Abnormal swelling, lump or mass. (synonymous with neoplasm, specifically solid neoplasm).
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| Neoplasm: |
Scientific description of an abnormal proliferation of genetically altered cells. Neoplasms can be benign or malignant:
- Malignant neoplasm or tumour: synonymous with cancer.
- Benign neoplasm or tumour: a tumor (solid neoplasm) that stops growing by itself, does not invade other tissues.
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| Pre-malignancy or pre-cancer: |
A neoplasm that is not invasive but has the potential to progress to cancer (become invasive) if left untreated. (atypia, dysplasia, carcinoma in situ).
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| Carcinoma: |
Malignant tumours derived from epithelial cells. For example cancers of breast, lung, prostate, nasophyarnx and colon.
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| Sarcoma: |
Malignant tumours derived from connective tissue or mesenchymal cells.
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| Lymphoma and leukaemia: |
Malignancies derived from haematopoietic (blood-forming) cells
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| Germ cell tumour: |
Tumors derived from totipotent cells. In adults most often found in the testis and ovary.
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| Blastic tumour: |
Tumour (usually malignant) which resembles an immature or embryonic tissue. Many of these tumors are most common in children. |
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Cancer diagnosis and management: |
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| Screening: |
To detect unsuspected cancers in an asymptomatic population (Mammogram and PAP smear).
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| Diagnosis: |
Confirmation of the cancerous tissue by histological examination.
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| Surgical excision: |
Removal of a tumour by operation. The first known surgical treatment for cancer was described in the 1020s by Avicenna (Ibn Sina) in The Canon of Medicine, and stated that the excision should be radical and that all diseased tissue should be removed, including removal of veins running in the direction of the tumour. He also recommended the use of cauterization for the area being treated if necessary.
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| Surgical margins: |
Evaluation of the edges of the removed tissue removed to determine if the tumour was removed completely ("negative margins") or if tumor was left behind ("positive margins").
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| Grade: |
A number (usually on a scale of 3) to describe the degree of resemblance of the tumor to the surrounding benign tissue.
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| Stage: |
A number (usually on a scale of 4) to describe the degree of invasion of the body by the tumour.
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| Recurrence: |
New tumour that appears at the site of the original tumor after treatment.
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| Metastasis: |
New tumours that appear elsewhere in body, far from the original tumour.
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| Transformation: |
The concept that a low-grade tumour transforms to a high-grade tumor over time. |
| Chemotherapy: |
Treatment with drugs.
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| Radiation therapy: |
Treatment with radiations (External Beam Therapy, Intensity Modulation Therapy, Linear Accelerator, Gamma Knife)
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| Adjuvant therapy: |
Treatment, either chemotherapy or radiation therapy or both, after surgery to kill the remaining cancer cells.
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| Prognosis: |
The probability of cure after the therapy. It is usually expressed as a probability of survival five years after diagnosis. Alternatively, it can be expressed as the number of years when 50% of the patients are still alive. |
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Various tests: |
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- Tumour markers (CEA, CA-125, CA 15.3, CA 19.9, Alpha-foetoprotein etc.,)
- Mammogram
- Ultrasound
- X-ray
- CT Scan
- Nuclear Medicine Tests like Bone Scan
- PET (Positron Emission Tomography)
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