19 Cancer Medicine vocab Flashcards
adjuvant therapy
assisting primary tx, drugs are given early in the tx course, along with surgery or radiation to attack deposits of cancer cells
anaplasia
loss of differentiation of cells, reversion to a primitive cell type
angiogenesis
process of forming new blood vessels
benign tumor
noncancerous growth (neoplasm)
biological response modifiers
substances produced by normal cells that either directly block tumor growth or stimulate the immune system to fight cancer
brachytherapy
radiotherapy that uses insertion of sealed contrainers into body cavities or radioactive seeds directly into the tumor
carcinogens
agents that cause cancer; chemicals and drugs, radiation and viruses
carcinoma
cancerous tumor made up of cells of epithelial origin
cellular oncogenes
pieces of DNA that, when activated by mutations or by dislocation, can cause a normal cell to become malignant
dedifferentiation
loss of differentiation of cells; reversion to a more primitive, embryonic cell type; anaplasia or undifferentiation
DNA
deoxyribonucleic acid - genetic material - controls cell division and protein synthesis
differentiating agents
drugs that promote tumor cells to differentiate, stop growing and die
grading of tumors
evaluating the degree of maturity of tumor cells or indication of malignant transformation
infiltrative
extending beyond normal tissue boundaries into adjacent tissues
invasive
having the ability to enter and destroy surrounding tissue
irradiation
exposure to any form of radiant energy such light, heat, or x-ray
malignant tumor
tumor w/ characteristics continuous growth, invasiveness, metasatasis
metastasis
spread of malignant tumor to a secondary site (meta- beyond) (-stasis = control)
mesenchymal
embryonic connective tissue, tissue from which connective tissues arise
mitosis
replication of cells, two identical cells from parent
meiosis
specialized type of cell division which reduces the chromosome number by half. This process occurs in all sexually reproducing eukaryotes
modality
method of tx, such as surgery, chemotherapy, or irradiation
morbidity
condition of being unwell; deficient in normal function
mucinous
containing mucus
mutation
change in the genetic material of a cell; may be caused by chemicals, radiation, or viruses, or spontaneously
neoplasm
new growth, benign or malignant tumors
nucleotide
unit of DNA composed of sugar, phosphate and a base
oncogene
region of DNA in tumor cells or in viruses that cause cancer
palliative
relieving pain but not curing symptoms
pedunculated
possessing a stem or stalk(peduncle) characteristic of some polypoid tumors
pharmacokinetics
study of the distribution in and the removal of drugs from the body over time in humans and animals
radiation
energy carries by a stream of particles
relapse
recurrence of tumor after treatment
remission
partial or complete disappearance of symptoms of disease
RNA
ribonucleic acid, represents a copy of DNA and directs the formation of new protein inside cells
sarcoma
cancerous tumor derived from connective or flesh tissue
serous
having the appearance of a thin watery fluid (serum)
sessile
having no stem; characteristics of some polypoid tumors
staging of tumors
system of evaluating the extend of spread of tumors
viral oncogenes
pieces of DNA from viruses that infect a normal cell and cause it to become malignant
virus
an infectious agent that reproduces by entering a host cell and using the host’s genetic material to make copies of itself
