Med Term Chp 19 VOCAB
Terms
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- gross description of tumors
- visual appearance of tumors to the naked eye: cystic, fungating, inflammatory, medullary, necrotic, polypoid, ulcerating, and verrucous tumors
- morbidity
- condition of being diseased; describing damage to normal tissues
- photon therapy
- radiation therapy using energy in the form of x-rays or gamma rays
- carcinogens
- agents that cause cancer, chemicals and drugs, radiation, viruses
- deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
- genetic material within the nucleus of a cell; controls cell division and protein synthesis
- pharmocokinetics
- study of the distribution in and removal of drugs from the body over a period of time
- irradiation
- exposure to any form of radiant energy such as light, heat, or x-rays
- fields
- dimensions of the size of radiation used to treat a tumor from a specific angle
- external beam radiation
- radiation applied to a tumor from a distant source
- antimetabolites
- chemicals that prevent cell division by inhibiting formation of substances necessary to make DNA; used in cancer chemotherapy
- remission
- partial or complete disappearance of symptoms of disease
- stereotactic radiosurgery
- dose of radiation delivered under stereotactic (high precise) guidance
- oncogene
- region of DNA in tumor cells or in viruses that cause cancer.
- sarcoma
- cancerous tumor derived from connective or flesh tissue
- apoptosis
- programmed cell death. normal cells undergo apoptosis when damaged or aging, some cancer cells have lost the ability to undergo apoptosis and they live forever
- pedunculated
- possessing a stem or stalk, characteristic of some polypoid tumors
- chemotherapy
- treatment with drugs
- invasive
- having the ability to enter and destroy surrounding tissue
- radiotherapy
- treatment of tumors using radiation; radiation oncology
- radioresistant tumor
- tumor cells that require large doses of radiation to be destroyed
- mesenchymal
- embryonic connective tissue
- genetic screening
- family members are tested to determine whether they have inherited a cancer-causing gene
- surgical procedures to treat cancer
- methods of removing cancerous tissue: cryosurgery, cauterization, en bloc resection, excisional biopsy, exenteration, fulguration, incisional biopsy
- proton therapy
- subatomic particles produced by a cyclotron deposit an absorbed dose of radiation at a focused finite point in the body
- solid tumor
- tumor compose of a mass of cells
- linear accelerator
- large electronic device that produces high-energy x-ray beams for treatment of deep-seated tumors
- alkylating agents
- synthetic chemicals containing alkyl groups that interfere with DNA synthesis
- radiosensitizers
- drugs that increase the sensitivity of tumors to x-rays
- differentiation
- specialization of cells, unspecialized cells are modified and altered to form specific and characteristic types and functions
- neoplasm
- new growth; benign or malignant tumors
- palliative
- relieving but not curing symptoms
- 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
- mixed-tissue tumors
- tumors composed of different types of tissued (epithelial as well as connective)
- benign tumor
- non cancerous growth (neoplasm)
- steroids
- complex, naturally occurring chemicals, such as hormones, that are used in cancer chemotherapy
- sessile
- having no stem, characteristic of some polypoid tumors
- relapse
- return of symptoms of disease
- electron beams
- low-energy beams of radiation for treatment of skin or surface tumors
- mutation
- change in the genetic material of a cell; may be caused by chemicals, radiation, or viruses or may occur spontaneously
- staging of tumors
- system of evaluating the extent of spread of tumors. ex: TNM system (tumor-node-metastasis)
- combination chemotherapy
- use of several chemotherapeutic agents together for the treatment of tumors
- protocol
- detailed plan for treatment of an illness
- adjuvant therapy
- assisting primary treatment. drugs are given early in the course of treatment, along with surgery or radiation to attack cancer cells that may be too small to be detected by diagnostic techniques
- ribonucleic acid (RNA)
- cellular substance that, along with DNA, plays an important role in protein synthesis
- simulation
- study using CT scan or MRI to map treatment before RT is given
- encapsulated
- surrounded by a capsule, benign tumors are encapsulated
- radiocurable tumor
- tumor cells that are destroyed by radiation therapy
- grading of tumors
- evaluating the degree of maturity of tumor cells or indication of malignant transformation
- serous
- pertaining to a thin watery fluid (serum)
- radiation
- energy carried by a stream of particles
- metastasis
- spread of a malignant tumor to a secondary site, literally beyond control
- molecularly targeted drugs
- anticancer drugs designed to block the function of growth factors, their receptors , and signaling pathways in specific tumor cells
- mitosis
- replication of cells; a stage in a cell's life cycle involving the production of two identical cells from a parent cell
- radiosensitive tumor
- tumor in which radiation can cause the death of cells without serious damage to surrounding tissue
- differentiating agents
- drugs that promote tumor cells to differentiate, stop growing, and die
- gray (Gy)
- unit of absorbed radiation dose
- malignant tumor
- tending to become worse and result in death; having the characteristics of invasiveness, anaplasia, and metastis
- carcinoma
- cancerous tumor made up of cells of epithelial origin
- antimitotics
- drugs that block mitosis (cell division). taxol is an antimitotic used to treat breast and ovarian cancers
- antibiotics
- chemical substances, produced by bacteria or primitive plants. they inhibit the growth of cells and are used in cancer chemotherapy
- anaplasia
- loss of differentiation of cells, reversion to a more primitive cell type
- biological response modifiers
- substances produced by normal cells that either directly block tumor growth or stimulate the immune system to fight cancer
- modality
- method of treatment, such as surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation
- dedifferentiation
- loss of differentiation of cells; reversion to a more primitive, embryonic cell type; anaplasia or undifferentiation
- angiogenesis
- process of forming new blood vessels
- infiltrative
- extending beyond normal tissue boundaries
- cellular oncogenes
- pieces of DNA that, when broken or dislocated, can cause a normal cell to become malignant
- fractionation
- giving radiation in small, repeated doses
- biological therapy
- use of the body's own defenses to destroy tumor cells
- microscopic description of tumors
- appearance of tumors when viewed under a microscope: alveolar, carcinoma in situ, diffuse, dyplastic, epidermoid, follicular, papillary, pleomorphic, scirrhous, undifferentiated
- mucinous
- containing mucus