Type of treatment that takes
advantage of the biologic differences between cancer cells and
healthy cells by “focusing on” faulty genes or proteins that contribute
to cancer growth.
Removal of a tissue sample that is then examined under a
microscope to check for cancer cells.
Type of therapy given before the main treatment.
It may include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or hormone
therapy given prior to surgery to shrink a tumor so it is easier to
remove.
A test to check the number of red
blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets in a sample of blood.
Platelets are the components of blood that help it to clot. (Abbreviation only)
Proteins in the immune system that recognize and
attach to foreign molecules, called antigens.
An abnormal decrease in the number of neutrophils
in the blood. Neutrophils are a type of white blood cell that fights
infection.
Also called pre-malignant.
Metastasis: The spread of cancer from where the cancer began to
another part of the body. Cancer cells can break away from the
primary tumor and travel through the blood or the lymphatic system
to the lymph nodes, brain, lungs, bones, liver, or other organs.
Deoxyribonucleic acid): The molecules inside cells that
store genetic information
A length of DNA that carries the genetic information
necessary for production of a protein. Genes are located on
chromosomes and are the basic units of heredity.
Cancer that has spread outside the layer of
tissue in which it started and is growing in other tissues or parts of
the body. Also called infiltrating cancer.
Cancer that starts in skin or tissues that line the inside
or cover the outside of internal organs.
Type of therapeutic treatment given after the main treatment. It
usually refers to chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormone
therapy, or immunotherapy given after surgery to reduce the
chance of cancer coming back.
This type of remission that refers to a
greater than 50% reduction of tumor mass.
An action plan for how a clinical trial will be carried out. It
states the goals and timeline of the study, who is eligible to
participate, what treatments and tests will be given and how often,
and what information will be gathered.